


Gotei 13 watches anime - Pendulum Cast

by MoonRaven1412



Category: Bleach
Genre: Anime, Asagi - Freeform, Gen, Humor, I mean, Kidnapping, Kotobuki Mirai, OFC is basically author herself, Speculation, Turn Back Pendulum Arc, characters watch anime, taichou-napping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-12-26 12:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12059265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonRaven1412/pseuds/MoonRaven1412
Summary: It began with summons. And then they were all taicho-napped to some cavern. With the purpose of watching events from hundred or so years in future? The officers of Gotei 13 have been gathered to see what could happen if they go on as obliviously as they always do. Maybe by seeing the potential future gives them chance to fix it before it's too late.





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to post this here too. I hope you enjoy.  
> Asagi is basically me and Kanzo-iro is Ichigo. He is different from canon though since both characters come from Self-Insert fic that I should post here too.

**Gotei 13 watches anime - Pendulum cast  
Chapter 1: Intro**

It began with a flutter of jigokuchou heading to the divisions. The amount varied from one to three with the eleventh division receiving none. All jigokuchou instructed the recipients to arrive the first division’s courtyard post haste. Once everyone arrived though, there was a flash of light beneath their feet and all the gathered officers vanished.

They landed mostly on their own feet. Some, like 12th division lieutenant Sarugaki Hiyori, stumbled the landing and fell down while some were scooped up by their superior officer as was the case of 8th division lieutenant Yadomaru Lisa and little Ise Nanao who had been lifted from the ground by their captain Kyoraku Shunsui.

“Put me down.” Lisa demanded at once.

“Ara…” Shunsui looked around whilst granting his lieutenants request. The woman took Nanao from him at once too. “I didn’t notice it before but most of us are the highest ranked officers of our divisions. Most of the captains are even gathered.”

“Yoruichi-san… Is this…?” Urahara Kisuke, the captain of 12th division, took notice of the place they’d landed in. It was a huge cavern with a lot of light in it. It was very familiar place for the inventor and his two childhood friends.

“Yes, I think it is.” The 2nd division captain Shihoin Yoruichi nodded. Next to her young Sui-Feng looked around too.

“You know this place Yoruichi-sama?”

“Yes, this…” But her attention went to two individuals that had not been at the First Division courtyard. “Tessai! Is this your doing?”

“No, it is not, Yoruichi-dono.” The Kidou Corps commander shook his head. “Ushouda-kun and I were taken here just moments ago with…”

“Byakuya-bou!” The cat-woman tackled the irate teenager standing next to the two Kidou Masters.

“Get off me, hellcat!” The heir of the Kuchiki Clan yelled.

At the background the head captain Yamamoto was having Urahara to explain just where they were. (“Training grounds that I dug under Sokyoku Hill when I was in the Academy. No sir, I have no other places like this stashed away.”)

There was chatter and confusion but eventually things calmed down enough that they could take a proper stock of exactly who all had been invited and promptly kidnapped.

1st Division: Captain Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni and Lieutenant Sasakibe Chojiro

2nd Division: Captain Shihoin Yoruichi and seated officer Sui-Feng

3rd Division: Captain Otoribashi Rojuro and Lieutenant Iba Chikane

4th Division: Captain Unohana Retsu, Lieutenant Yamada Seinosuke and unseated officer Kotetsu Isane

5th Division: Captain Hirako Shinji and 3rd Seat Ichimaru Gin

6th Division: Captain Kuchiki Ginrei and Lieutenant Kuchiki Sojun (+ clan heir Kuchiki Byakuya)

7th Division: Captain Aikawa Love and Lieutenant Kotsubaki Jin’emon

8th Division: Captain Kyoraku Shunsui, Lieutenant Yadomaru Lisa and unseated officer Ise Nanao

9th Division: Captain Muguruma Kensei and Lieutenant Kuna Mashiro

10th Division: 3rd seat Shiba Isshin and unseated officer Matsumoto Rangiku

11th Division: None

12th Division: Captain Urahara Kisuke and Lieutenant Sarugaki Hiyori

13th Division: Captain Ukitake Juushiro and Lieutenant Shiba Kaien

* * *

The officers took their time to investigate the place. Especially after they noticed that the entrance had a barrier over it, preventing them from leaving. Urahara introduced his secondary workstation in one crevice and healing springs in an enclave between huge rocks.

Then there was an area that he didn’t remember making. It had tatami mats spread on the rocky floor with some rice paper walls separating the area into ‘rooms’ of equal size with one of them being larger than others. The large ‘room’ had pillows in organized stacks along one wall and couple of low tables. The room was ‘facing’ a large rock which had a smoothed down rectangular space in the middle of it. On the table was notebooks with various writing utensils and some snacks in bowls and plates.

He was about to question the place when an excited voice spoke up.

“Ooh, they found the place!” It was relatively young female voice. Disembodied and echoing in the cavern slightly. Several officers went for their zanpakutou at the voice.

“Dammit, Asagi, a bit of tact here.” A male voice groused at the other.

“Mou, you are no fun Kanzo-iro-kun…” There definitely was a pout at her voice.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Yamamoto demanded immediately. The officers were standing a bit scattered around him, trying to locate the source of the voices. Without much success.

“We? Call us Asagi and Kanzo-iro.” The female, Asagi, replied. “We’ve gathered you here to show a potential future for you guys. In an entertaining story mode where things will be revealed in time and bit by bit.”

“It’s so weird future.” Kanzo-iro muttered.

“Well, it isn’t ours but it’s theirs so…”

“Why do you even want to do this?”

“Things were solved at our world and I’m bored now. I want to play around a bit. And watching their reactions to alternate world’s hero’s actions will be entertaining. And who knows, maybe they’ll manage to fix their own world too.” Asagi explained.

“Does that answer you, jii-san?”

There were a couple of shouts and lifted eyebrows at Kanzo-iro’s way of addressing the head captain but Yamamoto remained impassive.

“And how long would this take?” The ancient Shinigami asked.

“Hmm… A month? Maybe? Don’t worry about the time passing. The barrier separates this place from the outer world and thus overall approximately on an hour passes outside.”

“Once we let you out, people will just think you were on a meeting and act upon the information given there. Which is technically correct.”

“Everything it technicalities to you…”

“Right you are!” Asagi chirped. “Please, soutaicho-dono, taicho-tachi, fukutaicho-tachi, shinigami-tachi… Take seats, you are in for a journey.”


	2. Episode 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first episode raised more questions than it answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not transcripting every single thing about the episodes in order to avoid copyraight violations. But I think you all know the plot well enough to follow the story anyways.

**Gotei 13 watches anime – Pendulum Cast  
Chapter 2: Episode 1**

Not really seeing any other choices, as the exit was indeed blocked and – as they were cheerfully informed by Asagi – they couldn’t release their shikai either, the officers took seats on the floor pillows and settled down to wait. On the background Asagi and Kanzo-iro were bickering over whether or not to show something called ‘opening’ and ‘ending’ too. Eventually Kanzo-iro won the argument by saying something about the openings being repetitive in the long run and didn’t really show anything to contribute to the plot itself.

“They look cool but that’s it.” The male said.

“Fine…” The female sighed. “Feel free to talk about the episodes, they are combined into story mode so sometimes they might jump into a different scene and stuff for artistic reasons. The notebooks are there so you can write up questions and stuff. Kanzo-iro and I will remain quiet until it comes time to go on to the next episode. Enjoy!”

And thus the first episode began. It was reflected on the surface of the smoothed down rock.

The opening scene was from an area with high cliffs and desolate surroundings. Shadows crept along sand. From the shadows a clump rose in the air and in the next scene poured down from the sky over nightly city, lit with numerous lights.

**_“We Tremble in Awe of That Which Cannot Be Seen.”_** Proclaimed the text on the screen.

The clumps from the sky fell on the ground and they could identify the shaped now as hollows.

**_“And We Worship That Whicch Cannot Be Seen.”_ **

A jigokuchou flew up to the sky against the fullmoon and the scene showed a female Shinigami standing on a telephone pole against the same moon. At the close shot of her face, they could see round face, solemn eyes and black hair with one strand falling across her face. At the girl’s comment about strong reiatsu in the city.

“I wonder if she is talking about the Hollows or something else.” Otoribashi mused. “I hope we’ll soon know where she is posted at.”

“She seems young enough that she is probably not even at Academy at our time.” Ukitake added.

They watched the mystery Shinigami leap forwards.

**_“And so fell the sword of fate…”_ **

“Not ominous at all…” Hirako muttered. He felt a small bit of satisfaction that his lieutenant hadn’t been invited to this gathering. It probably meant that either he was dead in the future or finally he had some proof that Aizen was shady and suspicious character.

The scene changed again. This time it was evening. A man was lying on the ground with his buddies surrounding him and talking angrily at the guy who had apparently knocked him down. And then one other guy got kicked in the face. The brief side profile of the attacker caused a couple of officers to pause.

“Huh…” Kaien blinked but decided to wait for a proper headshot before thinking the matter any further.

**_“Shut up, will ya!?”_** The Orange head shouted at the thugs while stomping the other guy’s face to the concrete. **_“Listen, all of you… Look at that!”_** He pointed at fallen down bottle with flowers in it and water pouring out. It was a strange sight for the officers, never seen something like that before. Meanwhile, they did note the orangette’s resemblance to Shiba Kaien.

**_“First question: What can that be? You in the middle!”_ **

**_“Huh? Uh, well… flowers for the kid who died here the other day?”_** Oh, that answered a lot. And apparently the correct answer garnered a kick in the face.

**_“Then tell me… Why is that vase on its side?”_ **

**_“Well… we were skateboarding and knocked… it… over…”_** The guy on the left answered. This time both him and his pal got kicked down. The assailant continued threatening the thugs until they ran away. Then the orange haired boy’s attitude did a one-eighty when he turned to address the little girl’s soul lingering in the place. To the astonishment of the Shinigami gathered the girl responded to him and they held a conversation.

“He can see that Plus soul?” Lisa blinked. “How it that possible?”

In the boy’s internal monologue they got his basic information: Kurosaki Ichigo, 15 years old, and capable of seeing ghosts since he was little.

The boy got home and was kicked in the face by older man and…

“Isshin!” They turned to look at the Third Seat of Division Ten.

“What are you doing in World of Living?” Kensei asked.

“And as a doctor. I had no idea you had healing prowess…” Unohana smiled.

“Ah, wait a minute…” Isshin laughed nervously. “This is a future, right? I have no idea. And is it even certain that… human is me?”

“It would certainly explain how Ichigo can see ghosts…” Kisuke mused.

As the father and son began yelling each other, they could easily identify Isshin’s voice in the older man. The shot cut to two younger girls eating dinner at the table but then the alleged Shinigami in the scene said something interesting.

**_“Are you gloating over the fact that only you can touch or talk to ghosts?!”_ **

“What?!”

“Would that mean Isshin has somehow lost his powers?” Yoruichi muttered.

“Surely not by exile though?” Sojun pointed out.

“It is a possibility but maybe not. It’s interesting for him to use the word ‘ghost’ rather than ‘plus’ here.” Kyoraku said then.

The girls got introduced at Yuzu and Karin while Ichigo kicked the older man to the wall. And a floating and smoking orb appeared by his shoulder.

**_“Ichi-nii, you have a new one on you.”_** Karin told the boy, without turning around.

“Good spiritual senses for someone so young.” Seinosuke said. “In the other hand, how sharp are Ichigo-san’s senses if he can’t sense them yet can see them so clearly?” He picked up one of the notebooks and wrote down his observations on the Kurosaki siblings. Especially after Yuzu stated sensing them but barely seeing them.

“Isshin has definitely lost his powers.” Kisuke observed then. “Even by sealing powers on the order of Central 46, exiled Shinigami can still see plus souls and sense spiritually so they can get away from hollows and such.”

And the tussle between the males in the house continued, with Ichigo as the winner. The boy left the kitchen while the other two members of the family continued conversation. And then Isshin went to cry over a poster of a very beautiful woman. It was obvious that it was from her that Ichigo and Yuzu had inherited their haircolor.

“More ghosts than normal then?” Love hummed, referring to the information the Ichigo had relayed to the twins apparently earlier. And when the scene showed next morning and a newsfeed about something the officers of Gotei 13 deduced to be from a Hollow attack…

“The Shinigami posted at… Karakura was it?” Sasakibe confirmed, receiving nods. “She must be swamped by work at this point. If I remember correctly, Karakura is were juureichi is currently situated at. It will attract a lot of hollow to hunt.”

And soon the scenes continued, like confirming Sasakibe’s words when the beginnings of a next hollow attack were shown. Some woman heard the hollow’s scream. Explosion of dust, scratch marks on the wall, panic…

White mask in the smoke then Ichigo saw a hollow for the first time in his life apparently. The little ghost girl from the day previous came running and they run away until she fell down. Ichigo stopped to wait when the jigokuchou fluttered past him and the black-clad girl appeared to cut down the hollow.

Two strikes and the hollows vanished. The girl gave one dismissive glance and Ichigo before leaving.

“He saw her? Definitely strong reiatsu.” Rose nodded to himself. “Pity we can’t actually be there and gauge with our own senses the situation.”

“Don’t encourage the two who brought us here.” Kensei grunted. “Who knows what else they can come up with.

“Still, the strength of his reiatsu, the control he has if any, the density of reishi in that Karakura town… It would all be useful.” Shinji pointed out.

* * *

It was night on the screen again. Ichigo was lying on his bed, trying to figure out just what he’d witnessed when the jigokuchou fluttered through the window and the Shinigami girl stepped through the wall onto his desk. Ichigo sat up, staring at her while she ignored him.

“Does she really not notice that he is looking at her, directly?” Hiyori scoffed. “Is she stupid or something? He is even talking to her!”

“Well, when you were last time in the world of living, how much did you pay attention to humans there?” Kisuke hummed.

“Enough that I would’ve noticed someone talking to me instead of to empty air!”

And then Ichigo kicked the girl.

**_“What are you talking about?!”_** The lights on. **_“First you scare the living daylights out of me, then you ignore me? I’m asking who you are!”_**

“What a first impression!” Shinji cackled. “I can’t wait to see who this little girl is and how she’ll handle this.

The girl, while baffled, was surprisingly calm about the situation and questioned the boy before agreeing to explain the situation to the boy.

“Isn’t that against rules, Kensei?” Mashiro pouted. “Telling a human?”

“He can already see her and probably wouldn’t let her do her job without some sort of reason. Not to mention that she is the one that trespassed into his room and home. Even if it were against rules, she still owes him that much.” Kensei replied.

The scene showed outside next, with the familiar plus soul running away from echoing heavy footsteps. The powerlines snapped and electricity run along the hollows form.

“That’s quite large for something in the human world.” Soi-Fong frowned. “Is that what the girl sensed?”

“Possibly, yet she remained stationary in Ichigo’s room, like she wasn’t sure about it’s direction. Otherwise she would’ve already gone and cut it down.” Yoruichi replied.

“Maybe it was the boy she sensed instead?” Chikane suggested. “Or if our hunches about the boy’s reiatsu are correct, then she stepped into the area of his reiatsu and lost the direction to the hollow.”

Meanwhile Ichigo was doing a recap about what the Shinigami girl had revealed to him. But…

**_“Idiot! You think I’s believe that!?”_ **

**_“You’re… You’re saying that, although you see ghosts, you don’t believe in shinigami?”_ **

**_“Of course! Unfortunately, I’ve never seen a Shinigami before. I don’t believe in anything that I can’t see.”_ **

**_“But you can see me now.”_ **

**_“I’ll admit that you’re no human. But quit playing ‘shinigami’ around here. Got that? You midget.”_ **

“To be fair… He does make a good point.” Gin grinned, first of the younger ones of the gathered Shinigami speaking up. “Seeing is believing and all, yet the girl has no concrete evidence for him.”

**_“Bakudo no Ichi: Sai!”_ **

“Well, that’s one way to prove it.”

The girl continued talking to Ichigo, threatening and looking down on him. Then she konsoed the soul of the salaryman in Ichigo’s room. When she called Soul Society a restful place, Rangiku resisted the urge to scoff. Rukongai was anything but.

Then the girl began explaining everything more clearly. Accompanied by awful pictures that many found hard not to laugh at. Only Byakuya honestly liked them but decided to keep quiet about the matter.

**_“Why was that hollow after that little girl?”_ **

**_“That I do not know. We have yet to grasp everything about them.”_ **

“Just what does the academy teach its students?” Jin’emon muttered.

“Maybe she was fast-tracked through.” Kaien guessed. “She has certain noble bearing but if she is not from the main family or even first born, she might’ve been pushed through the academy regardless of which class she was on. The problem is that we don’t know how long she has been in Gotei 13 and how much actual experience she has.”

The ghost girl run away from the hollow again but fell on the ground. But when the hollow was about to grab her, it stopped and sniffed the air. It didn’t take genius to realize that it smelled the Shinigami girl and Ichigo both.

Then Ichigo heard the hollow before the Shinigami girl. And when the girl continued talking, became clear that it was Ichigo’s reiatsu that was blocking her. Then many things happened fast. The girl heard the hollow, Ichigo’s sister screamed, the girl suddenly could sense the hollow reiatsu again, Yuzu appeared wounded and told about Karin being taken and…

Once downstairs, Ichigo managed to break through the bakudo spell.

“Wow…” Shinji whistled.

What happened next wasn’t that impressive though when the hollow tossed Ichigo to the ground after he tried to attack it with a chair.

The Shinigami girl attacked the hollow and made it drop Karin whom Ichigo caught then. The hollow vanished but was not defeated. The girl explained what she had deducted about Ichigo and his spiritual energy, concluding that both of the hollows were after him.

“What an idiot…” Lisa hissed when Ichigo decided to confront the hollow himself at the end of the explanation. And then the Shinigami girl get in between him and the hollow, getting severaly injured in process. She fell on the ground.

**_“Shinigami!”_ **

**_“You fool! You should’ve known… That you were no match for it. Or, did you think that everything would be over if you gave him your soul? At this rate, we will all simply become food for him.”_** The Shinigami girl crawled over a fence and collapsed against it. **_“Do you want… to save your family?”_**

“What is she planning?” Nanao frowned, looking up at Lisa.

“Something illeagal… Which just might be their only chance of survival.” Shunsui mused. He glance from the corner of his eye at Yamamoto who was sitting in the side with Ginrei and Chikane but couldn’t gauge what the elders were thinking.

**_“Of course! Is there a way?”_ **

**_“There is just one way… You must become a Shinigami!”_ **

**_“What?!”_ **

**_“Run the point of this Zanpakuto through the center of your being and I will pour my powers into you. I don’t know if it will work, but there it nothing else we can do.”_ **

**_“…Give me that sword, Shinigami.”_ **

**_“My name is not Shinigami. I am Kuchiki Rukia.”_ **

“She is a Kuchiki?!” Several gathered officers gaped. A Kuchiki violating such a serious law? Unheard of. (Especially when Kuchiki Kouga was basically struck out of history books.)

Sojun tilted his head. The girl was obviously important person in future events and since she was already alive at this point of time (if what she declared of her own age to Ichigo was true) it could’ve been possible that she would’ve bene included too… Or at least her parents. So why weren’t they and only himself, Ginrei and Byakuya were. Or was she adopted to the main family after the death of her parents? Hmm… Maybe she knew Byakuya well too.

On the screen, Ichigo grabbed the zanpakuto and Rukia got on her feet. The hollow approached them.

**_“I am Kurosaki Ichigo.”_** The boy declared to his benefactor. In a flash of light, the exchange of powers happened. And when it was over, Ichigo was clad in shihakusho and had a large sheath at his back and a zanpakuto fitting the sheath.

“Is that zanpakuto… sealed?” Rangiku gaped. “I mean, it’s Rukia’s right? And just seconds went by so he couldn’t have learn the shikai release command either even if it was his, right?”

“Yes, I believe so…” Isshin muttered. Things were getting strange and complicated.

“I got to say that in shihakusho, Ichigo-kun looks even more like Kaien.” Ukitake smiled.

Ichigo hefted the large sword onto his shoulder and the scene cut to Rukia who was clad in white yukata robe.

**_“Could it be… I meant to give him half of my energy, but he took it all… Who is he?”_** The girl thought. **_“I have never seen a human with enough reiatsu to confuse a shinigami. I have never seen a human with enough power to break a kidou spell on his own. And… I’ve never seen a shinigami’s zanpakuto become so large!”_**

“I’m guessing she is just talking about the sealed state since shikais can be about any size as long as the Shinigami is capable of using them. Not to mention bankai…” Love stated.

And Ichigo defeated the hollow.

**_Name: Kurosaki Ichigo_ **

**_Age: 15_ **

**_Hair color: Orange_ **

**_Eye color: Brown_ **

**_Occupation: High school student and Shinigami._ **

* * *

 

The episode ended.

“Now, what did you think? Our protagonists for the first story arc have just been introduced!” Asagi chirped up.

“Why do I get the feeling that in the next ‘story arc’ they will have to face the consequences of what just happened here?” Shunsui hummed.

“Maybe…” There was a grin in Asagi’s voice. “Nee, Kanzo-iro, what do you think about Ichigo-kun and Rukia-san here?”

“Idiots the both of them.” Came the immediate reply. “I can’t believe that…”

“Now, now, the end result was the exact same one than in our world.”

“But he was actually an idiot and brash hothead not pretending to be one like…”

“Would we be correct if one were to assume that you are also a Kurosaki Ichigo, Kanzo-iro-san?” Sojun spoke up then.

Silence…

“Damn…” The male muttered but opened his throat then and spoke more clearly. “Yes, Sojun-san, I am Kurosaki Ichigo but not the version of which you are watching about.”

“Our Kanzo-iro-kun is much smarter and cooler than he is. Thanks to yours truly! I don’t exist in that world so Ichigo-kun is more brash there.” Asagi chirped up. “And now, let’s have the next episode to run!


	3. Episode 2-3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And thus the Agent of Shinigami started his work.  
> And the Kuchiki's are confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last pre-prepared chapter. As soon as I get writing the next one, this fic will be updated again.

**Gotei 13 watches anime – Pendulum Cast  
Chapter 3: Episode 2-3**

The ‘hosts’ were silenced again when the ‘episode 2’ began. The Shinigami focused their attention on the screen. The immediate aftermath of the actions of Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia.

Unexpectedly, Isshin was the one with first appearance in the episode when he was about to wake up Ichigo by attacking him. The orange-haired boy slammed the man on the ground, and received approving nods from the audience while the Third Seat of Tenth Division got withering glares.

 **“What about Yuzu and Karin’s injuries?”** Ichigo asked then.

“Injuries? So this is directly the next morning then?” Isane asked timidly. With the first episode already behind, the atmosphere had marginally relaxed and the younger Shinigami were encouraged to speak up their opinions too.

“Maybe… But…” Seinosuke nodded at his subordinate but looked back at the screen then.

**“Injuries? What’re you talking about?”**

The destroyed wall of the Kurosaki residence was shown as Isshin explained about a truck that had driven through it but managed not to wake any of the family. Ichigo was confused, Karin skeptical and Yuzu accepting.

“Isshin couldn’t have healed the girls though without his powers.” Jin’emon noted. “And Rukia-san couldn’t have done it either.”

“Which means there is someone else in the world of living helping him.” Yoruichi concluded.

After the screen declared it to be episode number two, the scene changed to show Ichigo’s school.

 **“Orihime, did you bring bento?”** A black-haired girl asked her orangette friend.

 **“Yes. I have taiyaki style ramen with wasabi and honey**.” The other girl – Orihime – smiled. A mental image followed that, with the first girl – identified as Tatsuki – declining Orihime’s offer to taste some.

“What a strange taste…” Chikane muttered. “Why do I get the feeling this won’t be the only strange concoction the girl has come up with… Though it may have merit… for other purposes…”

Rojuro felt a chill going down his spine and absolutely refused to look in the direction of his lieutenant.

Ichigo bumped into Orihime, who fell to the ground, and was then confronted by Tatsuki. The boy apologized the girl and offered a hand up, which she refused. Orihime got up on her own and after stumbling over words, fled the scene.

 **“What’s with her?”** Ichigo wondered.

 **“You have such a mean look.”** Tatsuki grinned.

“Very unlike Kaien.” Isshin chuckled.

**“By the way, why’re you so late? It’s already lunchtime.”**

**“Well… I’ll explain later.”**

It continued to Ichigo talking with some boys on his class… and reintroduction of Rukia who now was in the uniform of Ichigo’s school. And spoke very differently compared to the previous night.

Ichigo reacted with shock and confusion… until he managed to get Rukia elsewhere to ask questions from her.

**“Weren’t you going back to Soul Society or something?”**

**“Don’t be stupid. Only Shinigami can go back there. Right now, I don’t have that ability.”**

“That’s right, Ichigo-kun did end up taking all of her powers. Not on purpose but…” Shunsui trailed off.

“When it comes to Souls and power, it is the strength of will that decides these things.” Lisa continued. “Kurosaki-kun wanted to protect his family and took everything that was offered to him. Kuchiki-san opened herself up for the transfer but didn’t hold onto her own power tight enough to give only half. It was a tug of war where he used both hands and she only one finger.”

“An apt comparison, Lisa-chan!”

“Shut up.”

**“Last night, most of my powers as a Shinigami were taken by you… Thanks to you, I’m stuck in this gigai form.”**

**“What’s a ‘gigai’?”**

**“It’s a temporary body provided for use in emergencies. Shinigami who are drastically weakened inhabit a gigai until their powers return.”**

“I wonder where she got that.” Ukitake frowned. “It isn’t something automatically given for patrolling Shinigami as it is not easy to carry around. And considering Kuchiki-san’s actions, it is likely that she hasn’t reported what has happened.”

“Maybe it was the same person who helped at the Kurosaki residence.” Kaien suggested.

 **“So… Until my powers return, you will have to do the work of a Shinigami.”** Rukia declared. **“It’s only natural. You have the powers of a Shinigami. You don’t have the right to refuse.”**

**“I refuse!”**

“Not unexpected but…” Sojun mused. “…a bit unreasonable. I hope she will instruct him well.”

“Kurosaki Ichigo has to take the responsibility of his actions indeed.” Ginrei agreed.

“As long as it doesn’t disrupt his regular life.” His son pointed out.

It was a strange situation for the Kuchikis to observe the girl’s decisions and actions. Sometimes she was quite the proper lady while sometimes she was crafty and bold.

**“I don’t ever want to fight such monsters again!”**

**“Ridiculous! You did fine yesterday!”**

**“That’s because my family was being attacked. But I’m not about to fight for complete strangers.”**

“How selfish!” Byakuya glared at the Ichigo on the screen. “It’s the honor and duty of a Shinigami to fight hollow regardless of who is in danger!”

“But Ichigo-kun is human. He has only gotten his first proper taste of spiritual world, and not in a good light either.” Sojun reminded the boy.

“Yeah, Byakuya-bo. Considering his recent experiences, he is only being reasonable.” Yoruichi grinned.

Then Rukia forcefully pushed Ichigo out of his body.

“She definitely has Byakuya’s rashness.” Ukitake chuckled.

Rukia led the shihakusho-clad Ichigo to a playground.

“Did they just leave his body on the schoolyard?” Rangiku asked.

“Maybe…” Gin shrugged. It wasn’t like Shinigami cared much for the regular people, be they humans or souls.

Rukia looked for info on her denreishinki. Apparently a hollow was coming up.

 **“A Plus soul who lives in this park will probably be attacked.” The** girl explained.

“So the prediction of hollows has gone forward that much.” Kisuke hummed. “I can’t wait to see what other developments will happen in the next… I wonder how far in future they are.”

A child cried and the playing structures were blown in pieces. A spider-like hollow chased after a soul of a little boy. When Ichigo was about to run and help the boy, Rukia stopped him.

**“Why are you helping him? Isn’t he a complete stranger?”**

**“So what? I can’t just stand here when he’s being attacke before my very eyes!”**

**“Don’t be naïve. A Shinigami must treat all spirits equally. Just because they’re close by… just because it’s convenient… it doesn’t work like that. Don’t help him! If you intent to help that boy, make up your mind to save all spirits! You must make the commitment to go anywhere and even be willing to sacrifice your life!”**

“Harsh but true.” Love stated.

The plus soul fell to the ground. Ichigo cut the hollow.

**“Are you commited to this, Ichigo?”**

**“No! Who cares about commitment?! I saved this boy because I wanted to! What about you?”**

**“What?”**

**“You risked your life to save me last night. Did you think about your duty as a Shinigami when you acted? When you put yourself at risk, it doesn’t matter!”** Behind him, the hollow had gotten up again. **“At the very least, I will be different!”**

The hollow screamed and Ichigo finally slayed it. Then he turned around and performed a konso on the little boy’s soul.

“A bit crude but overall successful first konso.” Seinosuke stated, making another scribble on his notebook.

The scene changed to night and the girl from previously, Orihime studying in her room. A soul of a young man was standing in the air outside her window. The curtains were closed and two hollows wrapped their tentacle-like arms around the soul. They disappeared from the world of living and appeared again in the sandy landscape that was seen in the beginning of the first episode. The young man ran away but was captured by hollows and then turned into one himself too, the mask forming last.

“It’s always strange to see it happening.” Kensei said. “Even more so to witness the transformation in Hueco Mundo.”

“Hueco Mundo?” Nanao repeated.

“The home world of the hollows. In the end we don’t have much information on them or their world despite all the years of Gotei 13.” Kisuke explained. “But maybe my Research Division will find out more.”

* * *

 

The next half of the episode began with an argument between Ichigo and Rukia. And the Orihime girl lying on the road after a car drove by. And apparently she was fine.

 **“Who are you?”** Rukia asked the girl rudely. Which caused Ichigo to remind her of the girl being on their class. The girls greeted each other and Orihime told about her groceries.

**“My leeks, butter, bananas and bean jam… are fine too.”**

Chikane narrowed her eyes thoughtfully while Rojuro suppressed a shiver once again.

Rukia noticed a wound from a hollow on Orihime’s leg.

**“How did you get that bruise on your leg?”**

**“Huh? Did I just get it? Maybe when the car hit me.”**

Eventually Orihime left for home and Rukia interrogated Ichigo about her. Not that ti needed much prompting, the boy telling about Orihime’s brother and his demise.

**“Where are you going?”**

**“Home.”**

**“Where to?”**

**“Are you interested?**

**“Not really.”**

**“Then don’t ask.”**

“But it does raise a question of where she is staying.” Unohana said. “Many aspects of her whole situation are a bit… amiss.”

Next scene showed Orihime and Tatsuki meeting and eating. And a pink teddybear above a memorial for the hollowfied soul of the young man who everyone deducted being Orihime’s brother.

“Not much of a mystery whom the baldy will fight next.” Hiyori scoffed.

Then Yuzu was questioning Ichigo about the disappearance of her pajamas and a dress and Rukia was lying about somewhere and received another order to her denreishinki. And Ichigo heard the beeping of the phone.

“No way…” Shinji grinned. “No way that girl…”

 **“Ichigo!”** Rukia opened the door of his closet.

**“W-What’re you doing there?! And those pajamas…!”**

**“Save it for later. We have an order!”**

“She is _very_ unconventional Kuchiki. Though in her situation it’s probably a make-do with what she can.” Kaien chuckled. Sojun just smiled while Byakuya scowled and Ginrei remained impassive but slightly disapproving.

Rukia drew on the glove and pushed Ichigo out of his body just when a claw of a hollow emerged from the portal in the wall. The hollow of Orihime’s brother drew himself through the portal and screamed.

 **“What are you waiting for? It’s coming! Aim for the head!”** Rukia instructed and Ichigo drew his sword, gouging the ceiling in progress.

“Limited space. What a fool.” Sui-Feng muttered.

Ichigo wounded the arm after missing with his first swing.

**“Idiot! Don’t just swing the sword around!”**

**“Shut up! As long as I kill it, right?!”** And the boy attacked again, managing to chip the mask. But only after the hollow grabbed the sword and tried to pry it away. The hollow howled again before escaping. And Ichigo recognized the face behind the mask, freezing on spot.

 **“It got away. We’re going after it.”** Rukia said but when the boy didn’t follow him… **“What’s the matter, Ichigo?”**

**“I have a question… That thing’s face. It was Inoue’s brother.”**

**“What?”**

“Why exactly is she surprised? Considering the information she has, she should’ve figured it out, right?” Rangiku frowned as they watched the hollow writhing in agony in the desert-scape again.

“Yes, but this is probably Rukia-chan’s first real practical experience.” Isshin explained. “And while she may have the information, it is also a bit too convenient for her to encounter the hollow of that specific soul just like that.”

 **“I’ll tell you one thing.”** Rukia said when the scene changed back to Ichigo’s (ruined) room. **“Attacking a Hollow from behind and splitting its head in one blow. That is the essence of exterminating a Hollow. Do not forget.”**

**“What do you mean?”**

**“This is to minimize your own injuries and also so that you never see the identity of the Hollow.”**

**“What do you mean ‘identity of the Hollow’?”**

**“You saw it just now. All Hollows were once the souls of ordinary humans.”**

**“You never told me that! Wasn’t that just some monster?! Some monster we needed to kill?!”**

**“Yes, now he is just a monster. And he must be destroyed.”**

“She is leaving out something important here…” Hachigen sighed. “She is only making Ichigo-kun hesitate now.”

Orihime and Tatsuki appeared again, this time talking about Ichigo and it was quite obvious that the orangette had a crush on the boy despite her funny actions when she tried to cover-up her embarrassment. Then strange sounds coming from outside interrupted them. The girls looked around in confusion and fear as the sounds continued. The pink teddy bear fell on the floor. The scene ended with the hollow screaming behind Orihime’s house.

* * *

“Alright! Do you want a break or shall we play the next episode?” Asagi chirped, startling some who had been immersed by the story before them.

“Let’s watch. It stopped at an interesting point.” Sasakibe stated.

“Okay!”

* * *

**“But why would Inoue’s brother be after me?” Ichigo** asked. (Asagi had cut the previous episode recap off.)

 **“I do not know. However, judging from the hollow who attacked you last time… a separate and powerful hollow, hidden from us, wants to eat your reiryoku.”** Rukia explained. **“Several other hollows are probably being puppeteered by that one. If that’s the case, it explains Inoue’s brother.”**

“We did see that one hollow before the young man was swamped by the others.” Kaien frowned. “I don’t like where this is going.”

“I doubt any of us do.” Juushiro agreed. “Ichigo-kun and Rukia-chan are in the middle of something much larger than themselves. And we have no idea how long it has festered on the background.”

“Maybe once this episode is over, we can ask our hosts how far into future these events are taking place.” Shinji drawled.

Naturally Ichigo got angry at Rukia for suggesting of killing Inoue Sora but that was quickly forgotten when the girl realized that the hollow had one more priority to Ichigo’s reiryoku. And that was devouring his younger sister’s soul.

There was a scene with Orihime and Tatsuki before it was back with Ichigo and Rukia, the boy leaping on the roofs with the girl on his back. Meanwhile Rukia was explaining her reasoning about Orihime being in danger.

“Why do I get the feeling this will be a pattern with them?” Rojuro sighed. “Rukia-chan imparting knowledge to Ichigo-kun only when needed.”

“Because Shinigami in general look down on humans?” Seinosuke stated from behind his notebook. What he was scribbling there, no one knew. “And she is noble, no matter how unusual one she is.”

The pink teddy bear in Orihime’s hands was bleeding and the tear on its face was where Ichigo had cut Hollow-Sora’s mask.

**“What is this?”**

And a hollow’s arm went through her.

The younger Shinigami and many of the lieutenants shuddered at the scene.

Orihime’s body collapsed on the ground while frantic Tatsuki was attacked and wounded. Then attacked again and when she got up, she could see the outline of the hollow in front of her in the room. Before she was pushed onto the ground by the looming hollow. Behind the hollow, Orihime’s soul was huddled in the corner, shaking. She saw her body and then noticed the chain coming from her chest.

**“What is this chain? It really hurts.”**

“Poor girl…” Unohana gazed sadly at the screen as Tatsuki was being strangled by the hollow. It was strange for the hollow to attack his sister’s friend first and not devour his sister immediately.

Orihime got up and run against the hollow’s arm, falling down afterwards but still forcing it to let go of Tatsuki. The blackhaired girl panicked as she could not see or hear her friend at all. Then the hollow began speaking to her.

 **“How do you know my name?”** Orihime asked.

“Brave girl.” Yoruichi whispered.

**“I’m sad Orihime. Have you forgotten my voice? It’s me, you know.”**

**“No, stay away!”**

**“I’m sad. I’m sad! I’M SAD!”**

The hollow was about to attack the girl but was stopped by Ichigo.

 **“I thought you were after ME!”** The boy yelled and showed the hollow back, the being retreating to another portal. Orihime, getting over the shock, questioned Ichigo’s presence and identity while the boy was shocked to notice that she could see him. Until he noticed her chain that led to her body and remembered Rukia’s words.

**_“The Shinigami are spirits. They can only be seen by other spirits.”_ **

“Does that mean Ichigo-kun was a spirit when he was born?” Hachigen mused. “Even if his mother was human…”

But further questions were stalled when the hollow attacked again and this time grabbed Orihime’s chain and swiped Ichigo through the window with its tail. Ichigo landed in mid-air but was slammed to the ground in the next moment. Rukia was waiting on the outside and the hollow-Sora had Orihime’s soul in his grasp.

 **“Ichigo! Wake up, Ichigo! Ichigo!”** Rukia shouted.

“I didn’t notice this earlier, but she is being awfully informal, isn’t she?” Ginrei frowned. Just what did that girl’s parents teach her?

* * *

While Ichigo was on the ground unconscious, hollow-Sora spoke to Orihime again, leading to recognition.

Ichigo got up and Rukia reminded him of Inoue Sora being a monster now.

“He still could have more motivation if she told him that zanpakuto purifies, not kills the hollows…” Kin’emon muttered. “Even if they act like monsters…”

“True. But with how many of us think like that when we go slaying the hollows.” Love pointed out. “While it is true that as a human, it would help Kurosaki-kun to do his new job if he knew this, Kuchiki-san surely doesn’t think it actively. She is an officer of Gotei 13 after all.”

Meanwhile Orihime was in denial of the state of her brother. And Sora accused her of forgetting him when she stopped praying at his shrine. The hollow was manipulating her accusing her of the state he was in now. It was cruel to her but none of the gathered Shinigami said anything.

Ichigo attacked then, hacking at the hollow’s tail.

“He definitely has spunk but no sense of tactics whatsoever.” Kensei grumbled.

Next Ichigo cut the hollow’s arm when it tried to reach for Orihime.

 **“Listen you… Do you know why big brothers are born first?”** Ichigo asked then. **“To protect the little sisters and brothers being born later, dammit. A big brother can never tell his little sister ‘I’ll kill you’.”** The boy told and tightened his grip on the sword. **“Even if it costs your life!”**

What followed next was Sora telling about the fate of the siblings. Alcoholic father and abusive mother. Sora running away at eighteen and raising Orihime alone. He then proceeded to offer to leave Tatsuki and Ichigo and Rukia (who had just arrived) alone if Orihime just obeyed him.

And the attention went to Orihime’s hairpins. And hollow remembered her smiling at different ages, having all of her attention on him. The hollow convulsed, running his head against the wall.

“What is going on?” Isane whispered and glanced at Nanao who shook her head.

“It is very rare but… sometimes the hollow just might remember enough to regain a fraction of their heart.” Chikane told the girls solemnly. “When I was young I once run into a hollow like that. It had just slaughtered the rest of his remaining family and was begging for me to free him. I granted his request and sent him and his family to Soul Society.”

When hollow-Sora tried to attack again, the lieutenant of the Third Division continued: “It is very painful for the hollow though. And as evidenced here, makes them go from one extreme to another.”

Ichigo felled the attack and pushed the hollow out of the house and prepared to attack it. Then the hollow spat acid at his hands, forcing the boy drop his sword. Several of the reapers winced.

Hollow-Sora slammed Ichigo to the ground and slithered forwards to attack him again…

When Orihime appeared between them, wrapping her arms around the neck of the hollow despite having been injured herself.

 **“I’m sorry, oniichan.”** The girl began. **“It’s my fault. Because I said, ‘Don’t leave me alone’ that day. That’s why… you couldn’t go to Heaven.”**

**“Orihime…”**

**“I knew that you were always nearby. Even yesterday, when I was about to get hit by that car, you protected me.”**

“What?” Sui-Feng blinked.

 **“You said, ‘Look out!’ and pulled my leg. But if I relied on you forever, you couldn’t rest peacefully. So I wanted to show you… that I was happy… that you didn’t need to worry. But that… made you… lonely.”** The girl collapsed and the hollow’s mask fluctuated, trying to disappear.

 **“What is going on?”** Ichigo asked.

 **“Right now, he’s struggling against the hollow within him. He didn’t become a hollow of his own volition.”** Rukia explained. **“He was probably taken by other hollows against his will.”**

As the explanation continued about Ichigo being a target…

“It’s still weird for them to target one human like that, no matter of their strength of reiryoku.” Isshin said, displeased that his apparent future son was in danger.

The mask broke into nothing, revealing the face of one Inoue Sora behind it. Orihime collapsed to the ground but Rukia comforted both panicked Sora and Ichigo of the fact that as long as her chain was unbroken, she would survive. And then proceeded in healing the girl. And Sora noticed the hairpins again. Ichigo explained to the distraught older brother that Orihime wore them every day.

Sora drew himself up then and turned to grab the zanpakuto on the ground.

**“If I stay around like this… I’ll eventually become a monster again. So now, while my mind is still clear… I want to disappear.”**

And finally Rukia explained that slaying a hollow did not mean killing it.

Orihime said her goodbyes to her brother and Sora purified himself, turning into dust.

“How extra-ordinary case…” Sasakibe stated when the scene faded out.

The aftermath in the next morning was shown next. Orihime remembered nothing of what actually happened. Ichigo questioned Rukia of it and kikashinki being introduced. Kisuke was eagerly scribbling into a notebook of his own about the ideas of how they could be made.

**“You used that on my family too on the other night?”**

**“Yes, I did… What’s up?”**

**“I still can’t say I’m ‘prepared’. After all, I ain’t such a saint that I can promise to risk my life for strangers. But… neither am I scum enough to sit quietly by while people are getting hurt before my eyes.”** The boy explained and offered a hand. **“I’d like to help you with that ‘shinigami work’.”**

**“Sure. I’m looking forward to it.”**

* * *

“And that’s how Ichigo-kun found his conviction!” Asagi chirped. “Would you like to watch the next case or…?”

“Maybe we could give them time to actually talk about the events before pushing them on.” Kanzo-iro suggested.

“Maybe…”

“Ah, one question Asagi-chan.” Shunsui spoke up. “How far into the future these events are?”

“Roughly hundred years, give or take a few.” Asagi replied. “I wasn’t so picky as to when I called you so I don’t know the exact number.”

“Let’s say that Urahara’s appointment to captain was around one hundred and ten years prior the events shown to you.” Kanzo-iro added.

“Well, I’ve been a captain for six years so… that means hundred and four years into future.” Kisuke mused.

“Correct. Unfortunately, that’s about the only exact time we can give to you.” Asagi said a bit more seriously. “Now, any other questions?”


	4. Episode 4-5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you have any idea how hard it is to write 'questions' the characters come up and possible answers to them without breaking the fourth wall too much?

**Gotei 13 watches anime – Pendulum Cast  
Chapter 4: Episode 4-5**

“We have way too many questions actually but I doubt you are willing to answer us.” Yoruichi snorted.

“Well, many questions you might have will probably be answered during the course of the story and I really don’t want to spoil the plot…” Asagi said.

“What do you think if we watch next two episodes and then have dinner?” Kanzo-iro asked then. “After eating a couple of more episodes before calling the night.”

“But no sake parties!”

“Shut up Asagi.”

* * *

 

The episode began with sounds of sirens and Sado with his friends sitting and talking about…

**“A cursed parakeet?!”**

And after a conversation between them, Sado accepted taking the bird with him. Only to have a steel beam fall down of them.

The scene cut to Hueco Mundo where a hollow of some srot was talking about devouring and how Shinigami souls were the most delicious ones.

“No matter how much we fight, there are still some that fall prey to hollows. Sad fact of life.” Love sighed.

**“Once you taste it, you always crave it.”**

The parakeet was shown as a black silhouette against red background.

“Is it a bait?” Isane frowned. “Poor bird…”

Back with the humans, Sado took a burnt of the hit.

“How is he still alive?!” Kaien exclaimed. “A normal human would’ve died from that!”

“I think it is becoming glaringly clear that people of Karakura are anything but normal.” Ukitake stated, in mild shock him too.

 **“Thank you for saving me.”** The parakeet said. **“My name is Shibata Yuuichi. What’s yours?”**

Silence reigned.

“I’m sensing something really bad and sad going on…” Rojuro murmured. The parakeet didn’t sound like a bird at all. It sounded like a little boy. Not to mention the sentences it – he – spoke. Something was going on.

**“What’s your name, oji-san?”**

**“Sado Yasutora. I’m 15 years old… still.”**

“Isn’t he from Ichigo-kun’s class?” Kyoraku asked.

“I think so.” Lisa shrugged. “If this… case is centered around him, we’ll probably know more about him eventually, just like with that Orihime-girl.”

Next day had Ichigo wondering the healing rate of his own injuries.

 **“I was among the best in my Kidou class. That was easy.”** Rukia explained.

“I didn’t know they taught kaidou techniques in kidou class. Have they changed the curriculum?” Unohana asked.

“Probably not.” Seinosuke muttered. “More likely she picked it up during her time at division. Having good grasp in kidou just helped her… And she is bragging.”

 **“Kidou class? What’s that? Shinigami go to school?”** Ichigo asked.

“Does it really need asking?” Hiyori sneered.

“Well, considering that Kurosaki-kun knew nothing about the Shinigami previously, he might’ve assumed that Shinigami knew instinctively how to slay hollows and some such…” Kisuke shrugged. “Just like plus souls have their own instincts and knowledge about afterlife and hollows automatically know what they need in order to survive… He is simply asking questions in order to amend his information.”

Rukia asked how to drink her juice carton. Ichigo replied her. The Shinigami in the audience remained baffled.

“What purpose does a packaging like that have?” Jin’emon asked. No one answered.

Rukia and Ichigo were joined by Mizuiro who asked if they were… close. And if Ichigo cared what people talked about.

**“Ahou, if I cared about what people thought, I’d have dyed my hair black.”**

Meanwhile Rukia continued struggling with the juice but flipped into sparkling naivety as soon as Mizuiro addressed her.

**“Kojima Mizuiro, 15 years old. I like…”**

**“Picking up girls.”** Ichigo interrupted the introduction. **“He looks like a dork but he’s a real flirt.”**

“So a more refined version of taichou then.” Lisa said flatly, shooting a look at Kyoraku.

“Maa maa, Lisa-chan. I don’t look that bad.”

“Yes, you do.” Chikane said from the other side of the seating arrangement.

Then Keigo arrived, causing mess and being messed with. Like Rukia pretending not to know his name.

And finally Sado appeared too, with injuries and the parakeet in tow. Seeing the injuries and hearing what had caused them, the humans were surprised too.

**“What’s with the bird?”**

**“Konnichiwa. My name is Shibata Yuichi.  What’s onii-chan’s name?”**

And Ichigo and Rukia both sensed something from the bird. Isane bit her lip and exchanged a glance with Nanao. She really wanted to know what was going on with the bird.

**“Chad, where did you get the bird?”**

**“Yesterday…”** A pause. **“Somebody gave it to me.”**

**“Wait! You were just about to tell us, but got lazy and cut it short, didn’t you?! That’s a bad habit you have. Now, explain!”**

“Good thing that no one here is like that with their reports.” Yamamoto stated, startling many with his sudden comment. It seemed that the old man was relaxing slightly. Finally.

The screen focused on Ichigo but then Rukia spoke, reassuring the boy.

**“There’s definitely something in that bird, but it’s not evil. It’s probably a lonely spirit. But we cannot leave it alone. We should perform a Konso tonight.”**

“Why do I get the feeling they won’t succeed…” Rangiku sighed.

“Because of plot purposes?” Gin grinned. “I’m already sensing a pattern here. Asagi-chan said that we will be showed two episodes, so wouldn’t that mean this case will last the entirety of it? And we haven’t even reached the halfway mark of the first episode so… Troubles are to come.”

“Since when did you become so perspective?” Shinji looked down at his third seat.

“Through the academy in one year, taichou. They call me genius.”

“Well, with you trailing after Sousuke like some lost puppy, it’s generally hard to see.”

“Is that so?” Gin opened slightly his eyes for a brief, brief moment but no one saw the irritation that flashed through his light blue eyes.

The scene continued from there on through Rukia’s musings about Ichigo understanding the work of Shinigami better and then Ichigo began telling about how he met Sado.

“How old are 8th graders?” Ukitake frowned when the scene showed a flashback of Ichigo fighting a gang of thugs alone.

Speakers crackled as their hosts tuned back on.

“Approximately thirteen or fourteen.” Kanzo-iro replied.

“And how much schooling does humans go through?” The white-haired captain asked no that he had the opportunity and actual questions.

“Well… There is pre-school and kindergarten where children around years 2-6 go.” Asagi began. “That’s because of chance in human society where it’s typical that both parents work… Then begins the actual school at years 6-7. The first phase is elementary school and lasts six years. Then it’s middle school that lasts three years. Some students quit at this point and start working but some go to high school, like Ichigo and his friends. High school takes three years also typically so… Around twelve years school, until legal age of 18 or so.”

“That’s quite a lot.”

“Well, we have a lot more subjects than your Shin’ou Academy too.” Kanzo-iro added. “Subjects that concern the world around us, how it has evolved and why… No killing techniques.”

“Enough with the bitterness. They will glare at us if we ever go to see them face to face.” Asagi admonished the boy and then they fell silent again, letting the episode continue.

In the fight on the screen, Ichigo was held still while a thug beat him with iron knuckles and was about to toss a tile on his head when Sado intervened.

Isshin let out a sigh of relief. He really didn’t like seeing his future son getting beaten like that, no matter how well he seemed to handle the fights in the story’s ‘present-day’.

Then Sado was getting hit in the stomach repeatedly but his expression didn’t change at all.

“Chad never fights back, no matter how much people goad him.” Ichigo stated as the scene changed back to the school roof. Sado was feeding the parakeet who eagerly ate the bread offered.

Night fell. Ichigo arrived home.

**“Tadaima!”**

**“Outta the way! Move!”** Karin shouted and hurried past her brother.

**“Huh? What’s the matter, Karin? What’s your hurry?”**

**“Hi, oniichan!”** Yuzu greeted him. Both of the girls were dressed in nurse outfits. Not that any of the Shinigami assembled recognized the outfit for what it was.

**“What’s going on?”**

**“An accident! There was a car accident at the intersection.”**

**“A car accident?”**

**“You won’t take him?”** Isshin’s voice floated through. **“Do something! There are patients who need more than our first-aid level of treatment! Now listen! Tell your director it’s a request from Kurosaki! Then you’ll find some free beds! Understand?!”**

Isshin didn’t really like the way he was scrutinized every time the clinic under his future-self came up. No, neither Unohana nor Seinosuke looked at him. But he could feel the judgement even when they were staring at the screen!

 **“Oyaji! Anything I can do to help?”** Ichigo asked.

**“No! Get back in some corner and stay outta way!”**

“So…” Unohana began. “You put your two young daughters to work as your assistants and deny your son the opportunity to help even when he is most likely more experienced that Yuzu-chan and Kari-chan combined…”

“Do you somehow think that healing is only a feminine job?” Seinosuke added.

Isshin was sweating.

“Ah… I’m sure there is a reason… Maybe I know about Ichigo’s job as a Shinigami and thus am trying to make sure he won’t leave in the middle of a critical situation and that’s why keep him out right at the beginning?” The answer came without stutter but still sounded too much like a question. The stares and chilling smiles turned away but the judgement didn’t. Especially when Ichigo’s help was only needed in the next scene where the twins came in while trying to carry Sado’s large and heavy frame.

The next scene went from Ichigo recognizing Sado to the parakeet and to Karin who seemed startled by something.

Seinosuke perked up and scribbled yet another note to his papers.

Sado had a mark of a hollow at his back. Isshin continued pretending oblivious while ‘diagnosing’ the patient. While trying to treat the large boy though, Sado attempted to leave in the middle of everything. Only fall on the floor in dead faint.

 **“Did you feel it?”** Ichigo asked Rukia when he was back in his room in the upstairs.

**“Of course. I felt it even here. I didn’t sense anything from the parakeet. But the injury smelled of hollow.”**

“Must be a powerful hollow if a mere mark of it let so strong after impression.” Sasakibe stated. “If it’s the same than the one we saw talking about devouring Shinigami…”

“As a rookie Ichigo-kun might encounter some trouble.” Sojun sighed.

The night fell and the occupants of the house went to sleep. Sado was awake thought with the parakeet. And so was Karin who was haunted by something relating to the bird.

* * *

 

“See, Rangiku. We only now reached the half-way point and this much has already happened.” Gin remarked.

“Yes, yes, you were right…” The strawberry blonde young woman sighed.

The morning dawned for the Kurosaki household. Yuzu had made breakfast (thing that wasn’t protested for by the Shinigami, so old-fashioned as they were about the roles of the children and women) but Karin was missing, apparently feeling ill which was unusual for her. Then Isshin barged in, informing them that Sado had disappeared from his room at the clinic.

Rukia and Ichigo went to look for him at once. But they could not find anything. Neither by foot nor with the help of Soul Society.

An explanation sketch about the between-space where hollows resided, appeared.

 **“You expect me to understand with those kindergarten drawings?”** Ichigo asked.

“They’re not-…!” Byakuya began but stopped then he saw Rukia already retaliating.

 **“Hollow is chasing Chad! It’ll be too late if we wait for it to attack! There must be something…”** Ichigo remembered the parakeet. **“That’s right! The parakeet Chad had! We just have to follow the soul that possessed it!”**

“Impossible.” Ginrei scoffed. “The boy has had his powers for only what? Three days? Moreover, with the bird’s own soul mixing in…”

 **“That’s not possible!”** Rukia protested but Ichigo ignored her and concentrated. Light blue of his reiatsu filled the screen. Everyone held their breath to see what would happen.

 **“Ichi…go… What’s this sensation?”** Rukia stared in confusion. Spirit particles were lightened up and trailing upwards from the ground.

The scene cut to Sado and parakeet, the bird apologizing for all the trouble he was causing and trying to cajole Sado into leaving him behind. The boy refused.

Then Karin woke up from her nightmares and got up to go and tell Ichigo… something.

It was back to Rukia and Ichigo now.

**_“What’s this? It’s such a weak soul, even I cannot sense its presence. And he’s trying to find it from this distance?”_ **

The spirit particles materialized into reiraku – spirit ribbons – to the astonishment of many. Even Ginrei’s eyes widened marginally.

 **“I found him! Let’s go!”** Ichigo grabbed one of the ribbons and dashed off.

“Whoa… It was so pretty…” Isane breathed.

“But how did he do it?” Nanao frowned. “It’s a higher level technique. Even if he had enough reiatsu…”

“It is a mystery, isn’t it?” Unohana smiled.

“I have a feeling that Ichigo has an instinctual grasp of anything relating to Shinigami work…” Kaien smiled. “He probably won’t have that much of trouble with the hollow after all.”

With Sado and parakeet, they had sought shelter from an old warehouse. Where a hollow tried to flatten them. He dashed through a window and was then spotted by Ichigo and Rukia. He ran away from them too though.

**“Ichi-nii!”**

**“Karin! What’re you doing? You’re still weak!”**

The girl slumped down.

 **“Ichigo!”** Rukia called. **“Take her home first. I’ll go and save him.”**

**“What’re you saying?! I can’t!”**

**“Don’t complain! If you leave her there and go, you’ll be distracted when you fight the Hollow. I can’t have that.”**

“Reasonable argument but how will it turn out for her…” Love pondered. “Difficult to say. She is in severely weakened state but… If the previous case is any indication, eventually she’ll have help from Sado-kun.”

The two parted ways, with Ichigo carrying his sister.

**“Ichi-nii… I saw it… Last night… the memories of the spirit that possessed the parakeet. I think it’s because I was the closest in age.”**

“Age? Karin-chan is… how old is she?” Kyoraku frowned.

“I don’t know but not older than thirteen.” Ukitake was frowning too. He really didn’t like the sound of this case.

**“The strongest memory that remains in that child’s mind. It came flowing into me.”**

Seinosuke’s pen stopped for a moment.

**“That child… His mother was killed before his very eyes!”**

“Tragic…” Unohana murmured sorrowfully. “There are certain things that no child… well, no being really… should every witness…”

Karin begged Ichigo to save the child’s soul and with that the scene changed again. This time to Sado who was being chased by Rukia and hollow both. And Rukia’s musings about the gigai she was wearing currently.

“And once again it begs the question where she got that…” Urahara mused. “But she definitely should report to research division about her gigai malfunction instead of berating them…”

And then the hollow appeared, wanting to devour Rukia’s soul. The Shinigami fought back, retaliated with Soukatsui that didn’t work.

Sado went to Rukia’s help despite parakeet’s warnings. The girl was cornered while the hollow was gloating about eating two other Shinigami that tried to help the boy inside the parakeet to pass over.

“Hollows always find most distasteful ways to get souls.” Jin’emon muttered.

“Why do I get the feeling that this one is more warped than others?” Kaien frowned.

 **“By kid, you mean the spirit inside the parakeet? It seems you keep chasing after that soul. Why is that?!”** Rukia questioned the hollow.

 **“Well, if you let me eat you without resisting, I’ll tell you.”** The hollow answered before the scene cut back to Ichigo and Karin.

 **“Tell him… That if he passes over, he’ll be able to see his mother. Tell that boy… Don’t let that boy be all alone anymore. Please, Ichi-nii…”** The girl told her brother.

And the episode ended to that.

* * *

 

Next episode was put running immediately. Ichigo laid Karin to sleep and as he hurried back to the scene of fight, he mused about his sisters and how each of them reacted to their mother’s death.

Meanwhile Rukia was pinned to the wall by the hollow and…

“He managed to hit it?” Kensei said in surprise as Sado’s punch forced the hollow to let go of Rukia. He wasn’t the only surprised one as even on-screen Sado and Rukia were astonished. Rukia even went as far as to suggest the boy could see spirits but was quickly proven wrong when Sado went to punch air.

The hollow got up and began talking, only to get punched again.

“He is really strong.” Mashiro complemented.

**_“Impossible… He shouldn’t be seeing the hollow, much less hear its voice… He’s calmly facing down an enemy he cannot even sense… Doesn’t he have any fear?”_ **

“Brave boy…” Ukitake smiled. “Ichigo-kun mentioned that he doesn’t fight for himself though. It seems he has taken the parakeet and Rukia under his protection then.”

“Hmm… Very likely.” Kyoraku agreed.

The hollow jumped to the air and spread its wings, laughing.

 **“What are you going to do now, good-for-nothing Shinigami?”** It mocked.

 **“Don’t just stand there! Get away! He’s up in the air!”** Rukia shouted to Sado.

 **“Transfer student… You can see ghosts?”** The boy asked, his only visible eye widening.

**“Never mind about that! In any case, at that distance…”**

**“Where is he?”**

**“What?”**

**“He’s flying isn’t he? In which direction?”**

“What is he planning?” Sui-Feng frowned. “He can’t see the hollow and even with Kuchiki-san’s instruction…”

“We’ll see soon, I think. Patience, Sui-Feng.” Yoruichi smiled.

“Hai, Yoruichi-sama!”

And then Sado lifted up (uprooted really) a lamppost.

**“Now… where is he?”**

**“Right there! Swing down right there!”**

The hollow was beaten down with one swing of the heavy block of wood.

**“Now stay down. Someone’s on his way to finish you off.”**

“But it isn’t even the half-way of this second episode. It won’t be this easy.” Gin chirped. He received a couple of glares for the interruption but no one refuted the remark.

The hollow laughed and some strange minions of his attacked Rukia and Sado, pinning them to the ground.

**“You Shinigami take us too lightly. That’s why you end up like this.”**

_“The ingrained superiority.”_ Gin thought and exchanged a look with Rangiku.

Sado freed himself from the living restraints by sheer strength.

 **“What? This is crazy! You think you can solve all your problems with muscle? You muscle-headed idiot?!”** The hollow protested.

“Sado-kun isn’t like the meatheads from the Eleventh so I’m inclined to say no.” Rojuro chuckled when Sado went to hit the hollow again.

“He does have a good intuition thought.” Love remarked. “Even if it doesn’t always work.”

**“This way, Chad! Kick the air above me!”**

And the hollow escaped to the air again.

“With the way Rukia-san needs to constantly tell him where to hit and when he’s just hitting air… they make quite the good comedy act.” Seinosuke smiled, opening another page in his notebook, this one with the dark-skinned boy’s name as the heading. He steadfastily ignored the glares received from Ginrei and Byakuya about the mere suggestion that a Kuchiki would be part of any sort of comedy.

Though with Rukia’s next idea, even they had to agree that things were bordering ridiculous.

Lauching oneself to the sky. Really now. The chuckles coming from others were not helping the matter either.

“How is she even planning on taking on the hollow if she can’t use kidou?” Nanao asked. “No zanpakutou, no kidou, gigai restraining her to the level of normal human…”

“She doesn’t have any choices.” Lisa explained. “Currently, she is the only one that can see the hollow. If she can somehow bring the hollow back to the ground, Sado-san can beat it down until Kurosaki-san arrives.”

“Despite its ridiculousness, it _is_ a sound plan.” Rangiku mused. “No way safe but… with a possibility of it actually working.”

“If the hollow doesn’t have another ace in its wing-fold.” Gin added.

And Rukia was in the air! Everything seemed just fine with even the hollow panicking. Until one of its minions were revealed, spitting leeches at her. She fell from the air but Sado caught her before she hit the ground.

“I hope they are only leeches…” Yoruichi muttered. Hollows could stock up all sorts of nasty surprises but if those leeches only took in reiatsu and didn’t have poison or anything similar in them, Rukia should be fine once she got them off.

 **“They won’t come off easily. Besides, they’re my targets!”** The hollow announced and had its tongue make a whistling noise.

The leeches exploded.

Many curses were let out at it.

Sado stepped up against the hollow but then…

The parakeet’s cage had been fetched by the minions. The minions that were ready to explode around it and kill the parakeet.

 **“I’m sorry, oji-chan… He caught me…”** Yuuichi said.

With that the hollow announced his threats which Rukia then relayed to the boy. She ran off then, distracting the hollow and its minions and buying time.

“I really hope Ichigo-kun will arrive soon.” Ukitake said. “Rukia-chan can go on for long like this.”

And right on cue she got doused with leeches again, which were made to explode. She kept running on though, despite the taunts thrown at her direction.

Until she came to a stop.

“What is she doing?” Mashiro pouted. “She should keep running and running and running. Right, Kensei?”

Her captain grunted as a reply.

**“Have you given up already? That’s no fun. Come on, run, will you?”**

**“I’ve not given up. I have no need to run anymore.”**

**“What?”**

**“You said that I could attack you, didn’t you? In that case, I will take you at your word.”**

* * *

 

“There you have your half-way, Gin-chan.” Shinji teased the boy. “Are you satisfied?”

“Hai, hai, taichou. Now we just wait for the hero to arrive.” The boy grinned.

 **“In that case, I will take you at your word.”** Rukia said. Ichigo stomped the hollow on the head as he stood on its back.

**“Right… Ichigo?”**

“So cool!” Mashiro squealed.

 **“What do you mean, ‘Right, Ichigo’? Didn’t you promise to not worry me by fouling up?”** The orangehead asked in annoyance.

**“Fool! That’s a line for someone who’s even a little bit worried, to say.”**

**“I guess you’re right.”**

**“Damn you… How long do you intend to sit on my head!”** The hollow shouted and Ichigo jumped off its back.

**“Kurosaki Ichigo, 15 years old! Currently a Shinigami Substitute! If you want to chase someone, aren’t you running after the wrong person?”**

The angered hollow tried to attack again with the leech bombs but Rukia used the chance to separate the boy from his body. And through the smokescreen, Ichigo slashed at the hollow.

 **“I see. So you used those bombs so pin Chad down so you could enjoy attacking a girl?”** Ichigo analyzed the situation.

“Quite quick observation considering that he only now arrived to the scene.” Sojun noted.

The scene changed to Chad’s point of view where the tall boy could only see Rukia and Ichigo’s empty body.

**“I-Ichigo? What’s going on?”**

**“Chad. Perfect timing. Go and hide him and the parakeet somewhere safe.”**

**“Transfer student… What is this…?”**

“Poor boy, he must be so confused.” Unohana murmured.

“Doesn’t really matter now, does it?” Seinosuke stated. “Once this is over, his memories will be modified too.”

“Very true.” His captain conceded.

Ichigo was battling the hollow and its minions which he cut in half before they could spit their leeches at him. But the hollow just exploded the minions itself. Ichigo dashed from the smoke and laid his sword against the hollow’s neck.

**“There’s something I want to ask you. Are you the one  who killed the parents of the kid inside the parakeet?”**

“Of course…” Ukitake said softly. “Why else the hollow would’ve been so fixated on the kid…”

“I really don’t like this case.” Kaien muttered, barely audibly.

“Me neither. And I have a feeling Ichigo-kun will learn yet something new once everything is handled…”

They were back with the parakeet who was trying to explain that everything was his fault. That it was because he wanted to bring his mother back to life that Rukia and Sado had been hurt. Rukia immediately grabbed onto the statement and demanded to know who’d told the boy such things.

Meanwhile, the hollow admitted killing the boy’s mother while he was alive. And how he’d died himself back then.

“Oh… It will definitely be a learning experience.” Isshin said grimly.

“What do you mean?” Rangiku asked.

“You’ll see…”

The story went on about how the hollow trapped the boy – alive back then – into a parakeet and used him as a bait for new victims while the boy believed he would bring his mother back to life if he succeeded in getting away from the hollow for three months.

Ichigo was angered, dropping his guard for a moment.

“Fool.” Sui-Feng hissed.

A couple of leeches were spat at the boy who then punched through the teeth of the hollow mask and left one of the bombs there.

 **“You can have this bomb back.”** Ichigo said, smirking. **“What’s wrong? You’re going to set it off, aren’t you? Come on and click your tongue!”**

Shinji narrowed his eyes at the substitute’s behavior. It was unnerving and very un-shinigami-like.

 **“Aren’t you going to click your tongue?”** The boy continued. **“In that case… I’ll take it with me!”** He ripped his arm out of the mask and took the tongue with him.

And then he struck, slicing the mask in half.

“Quite unconventional fighter.” Rojuro mused. “A lot of potential, but very unlike what we’ve been taught.”

“Considering that he seems to get into street fights, he simply learns as he goes.” Love replied.

White and red light exploded out of the hollow, youngest watchers gasped as a pair of large doors appeared behind the serial killer. The doors were Prussian blue and had a pair of skeletons holding them closed.

“What are those?” Isane whispered.

“Those… are Gates of Hell.” Unohana explained grimly. On the screen Rukia explained how zanpakuto only washed away sins committed after death as the gates were opening. The youngest of the audience had learnt briefly about the hell and it’s gates but seeing them was still frightening.

The hollow was impaled but a giant sword held in a giant tattooed hand coming out of the red-glowing insides of the gate. The gates closed with a loud noise before shattering to pieces.

 **“So… he’s gone to hell?”** Ichigo stated before the scene changed to evening and Rukia examining the parakeet. Shibata Yuuichi’s chain of fate was gone by now though and there was no other option than performing konso on him.

When the parakeet boy seemed sad, Rukia began explaining about Soul Society and how good place it was.

“The way she talks… It’s like she is lying to herself… about the conditions of Rukongai.” Rangiku said sadly.

“She _is_ a Kuchiki though…” Gin frowned. “How could she know enough to try a delude herself like that?”

“Maybe she has lived around there?” Kaien suggested. “The Shiba’s have a lot of houses around Rukongai and my siblings and I have spent a lot of time in them. Sometimes Seireitei gets way too stuffy.”

Meanwhile Ichigo joined the conversation.

**“At least, if you go over, you’ll be able to see your mama. You can’t bring her back to life, but now, you can go to her.”**

“A beautiful thought, except that things don’t work like that.” Lisa stated. “He’ll end up some other district and even if he were to find his mother, it’s possible that she won’t remember him.”

 **“Oji-chan…”** Shibata addressed Sado. **“Thank you for everything… You ran around with me in your arms, so I didn’t get hurt at all.”**

**“Yes… You’re safe.”**

**“Well, I’ll be going then.”** Yuuichi’s spirit appeared behind the parakeet. **“Thank you very much.”**

**“Yuuichi… When I die and pass over, would it be okay if I carried you and ran around again?”**

**“Yes!”**

There were a couple of females who were dabbing their eyes at this point.

Ichigo performed the konso. And Karin rested peacefully in her own room.

* * *

 

“Touching end…” Asagi sighed. “But now, dinner time… Let’s talk later again.”

“Are you trying to slip from your responsibilities?” Kanzo-iro asked.

“Not really, the dinner is prepared after all. I just don’t feel like answering questions right now.”

“The dining area is ready, please proceed there and enjoy.”


	5. Episode 6-7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mod Souls and shady shopkeepers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What the heck was with the lengthened classroom scene with Kon kicking the shit out of Ichigo? That didn't happen in the manga... And why did they edit out the scene where Kisuke checks the bounty money Rukia and Ichigo made with the hollows they hunted. That's what Rukia used to pay her purchases!

**Gotei 13 watches anime – Pendulum Cast  
Chapter 5: Episode 6-7**

The Shinigami found a meal settled for them in the dining area. It was traditional Japanese one and… frankly quite fancy too. Asagi and Kanzo-iro let it be understood that it wouldn’t be as extravagant every day. But as it was the first day, the meal was a peace offering of sorts for the kidnapping.

During the meal, the officers continued talking, partly what they’d seen, partly what had been going on at the divisions before the kidnapping and naturally speculation about the future events too.

It was towards the end of the meal when the conversation was about to turn to their hosts, that the topics of the discussion interrupted it and ushered them verbally back to the viewing area.

* * *

The episode began with Rukia on a rooftop and inspecting the kikashinki which was blinking the last light of the row of four. Next she inspected her own hand, twisting it and leaving it shaking.

“There is something wrong with her gigai…” Urahara muttered.

“Maybe we’ll get to see now her mysterious benefactor in the world of living.” Ukitake suggested.

The scene changed to Kurosaki clinic and Ichigo carrying a plate of food to Rukia, only to find out that the girl was gone.

Down in the kitchen, Yuzu and Karin were eating.

 **“Don’t you think onii-chan is acting weird lately? He eats so much more now. And he always rushes back to his room.”** Yuzu pondered.

To which Isshin suggested girl problems and got kicked in the face by Ichigo.

**“…And quit analyzing me, dirty old man!”**

**“What are you saying?! It’s because I’m your father! Why don’t you understand?!”**

**“Who’d understand such a thing?!”** The males yelled at each other while brawling.

Kaien sighed in attempt of being serious and disappointed but inwardly he was chuckling in glee at the antics of father and son. Very Shiba-like despite being in the world of living.

 **“Your breakfast will get cold.”** Yuzu told the males then.

 **“How peaceful.”** Karin stated in the midst of eating before the setting changed again. This time it showed a location not appeared before. A little shop between taller buildings.

 **“Clean-up batter, Hanakari Jinta. Here’s the wind up and the pitch!”** A boy swung around a broom whilst announcing. **“With a perfect back swing, he lets it go!”**

“Wait a second! What did that shopfront say?” Yoruichi perked up suddenly. While the shop front hadn’t flashed briefly, not all of them had paid attention to it enough to actually read the words.

“I think it was… Urahara… Shoten?” Mashiro mused. Heads turned to the direction of the Twelfth Division Captain who gave a bewildered look at the screen whilst scratching the back of his head.

“Oh my… I wonder what has happened.” The blond said.

“Does that mean the faulty gigai is your design then?” Hiyori asked.

“Well, better not speculate just yet.”

 **“Jinta-kun, you’d better get to work or Tessai-san will scold you.”** The black-haired girl with sad eyes told her companion.

“Tessai is there too?!” Yoruichi exclaimed. “What an earth has happened? Or will happen in the next hundred years?”

“Hmm… And how many others will be in the world of living too?” Tessai thought aloud.

“And how much of the current captain line-up will change overall between now and that time. Excluding Urahara’s and Otoribashi’s appointments and the pending appointment for the Tenth Division captain, usually the captains are one of the longest standing members of divisions.” Kyoraku added.

“Why do I get the feeling that considering the timing of our gathering here, yet these events so far in the future, whatever drastic that will happen, is going to be in a few years at most…” Love frowned.

 **“Shut up, Ururu.”** Jinta pointed the broom at the girl. On the background the store front and the shop’s name were not clearly seen. **“I’m not cleaning up out of fear of Tessai.”**

**“Huh? Aren’t you sweeping because you’re scared?”**

**“I’m not scared! Besides, you’re too cocky!”** Cue a bullying scene during which Rukia interfered.

 **“You never change, do you, chibi-suke? Is the manager in?”** The Shinigami girl asked.

“Proves that Rukia has visited before.” Mashiro nodded.

“No one really doubted it anymore.” Lisa muttered.

“I’m not that scary, am I?” Tessai frowned.

“Well, you do have that intimidating stature…” Yoruichi mused.

Jinta opened the door an intimidating man carrying boxes and dressed in apron appeared. The light glinted from his glasses ominously.

**“Hey Jinta… It’s too early to open up shop. Huh? Kuchiki-dono! One moment, please. I’ll wake tenchou up.”**

**“Sorry, but I’m already up today.”**

Yoruichi burst out laughing.

“What the hell is that outfit Kisuke?! Bwahahahaa! You look like a loon! Not that you usually look that bright either but….”

“It’s certainly… green.” Kyoraku chuckled.

“And pink is that much better?” Urahara smiled placidly while on screen his future-self yawned.

 **“Good morning, Tessai, Jinta, Ururu… And welcome, Kuchiki-san.”** Kisuke smiled, dipping his hat. **“I just received a delivery yesterday. What would you like today?”**

The scene changed. Kisuke’s voice was heard as he went through Rukia’s order and put them into cashing machine. On the background, jars of candy and other snacks were seen.

“Why is she taking the cheapest kikashinki fuel?” Hiyori frowned.

“Maybe she figured that the cases they’re running into are simple enough, especially considering the way Kurosaki-kun has grown as a shinigami in such a short time.” Chikane guessed.

“Or then she simply doesn’t have much money with her.” Rojuro pointed out. “Since this is her first time in the world of living she wouldn’t know to take some with her and the trouble she got into was quite unexpected too.”

“If bounty money is the only currency she has, she won’t have much choices. Especially if she needs to buy something else too.” Love added.

“Like those Soumafixers…” Hachigen frowned. “Like Urahara-taichou’s future self says there too, the amount she is buying is quite alarming.”

“Considering the faulty gigai she has, it is no surprise though.” Byakuya glared at the division twelve captain.

“Hey, hey, please don’t point fingers until we know what’s really going on?” Urahara sweat dropped. This was worse than what Isshin was getting for his actions!

And when the on-screen Kisuke made his offer to check-out Rukia’s gigai… The combined glares from the ladies and the Kuchiki’s made his sweat even more.

 **“By the way, has the thing I ordered been delivered?”** Rukia asked.

**“Oh, yes it’s here. Ururu, get it from the storehouse.”**

**“Hai!”**

**“It says ‘new items’ on the box.”**

The scene went to Ururu in the storeroom as she looked for the item.

“Considering the structure of the stories this far, would it be reasonable to assume that the root of the new conflict would happen here?” Gin asked then.

“Shh! Don’t spoil!” Rangiku shushed her friend. “Even if you are wrong I don’t need spoilers!”

Ururu brought the item back to the shop and Rukia…

**“Is this the only kind you could get?”**

**“Don’t say that. That one’s the second most popular and was hard to get. But… You can’t fake it forever.”**

**“I know that.”**

“Accomplices the two of them…” Kaien mused as the scene changed to the school. And Rukia’s fine lady act.

She dragged Ichigo out of the classroom after hitting him into stomach.

“Well, one can do it that way too…” Shinji chuckled.

 **“Here.”** Rukia tossed an item to Ichigo.

**“Hm, what is it?”**

**“Gikongan, Substitute Soul Pills. It’s a capsule that will force a soul out of the body. When one swallows that, a substitute soul will enter and the real soul can leave the body.”**

“They act like Gokon Tekkou then, but won’t leave the body empty.” Ukitake mused. “Useful.”

“I assume those were made so empty gigais wouldn’t alarm humans and so the gigai’s can get into safety if the hollow is causing widespread damage.” Unohana reasoned.

**“If there’s ever a time when I’m not here and you confront a Hollow, use that and transform into a Shinigami.”**

**“It’s says ‘Soul Candy’.”** Ichigo remarked.

**“That’s because the Shinigami Women’s Association complained that Gikongan didn’t sound nice, so it was changed.”**

“…What is Shinigami Women’s Association?” Sojun blinked.

“And how much influence do they have…” Kensei frowned.

**“Why is it a duck?”**

**“Shut up! I personally wanted the rabbit-shaped contained, Chappy!”**

**“I see… You wanted a rabbit, huh?”**

**“Why’re you looking at me like that?! Are you belittling me?”**

“Is that what she was complaining to Urahara-taichou then?” Nanao asked. “Because it was the duck and not the rabbit?”

“Probably.” Lisa answered. “I guess the rabbit is the most popular one if she didn’t get it.”

Ichigo ate the candy and his Shinigami form was expelled out of the back of his own body. The boy was surprised, Rukia was smug and the substitute soul in Ichigo’s body…

**“Nice to meet you. My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. My favourite phrase is ‘Early to bed, early to rise’.”**

“It’s nothing at all like Ichigo.” Kaien laughed, agreeing with his on-screen cousin. But as Rukia received an order for a hollow extermination, they left the body to its own devices.

“Idiots, you do a test run before the real deal. What if it’s faulty too…” Hiyori muttered.

“Trial by fire seems to be their favored modus operandi.” Seinosuke sighed.

“Modus what?!”

 **“Hey you! Make sure to attend the next class!”** Ichigo yelled at the substitute soul while Rukia once again dragged him away.

 **“Leave it to me, master!”** The soul waved before his expression changed. **“Take your time.”**

Heads turned to Urahara and Tessai’s direction.

“Why won’t we watch and see? The order of goods came from elsewhere after all.” The scientist smiled.

And right on cue the scene changed to future Kisuke in the storeroom and noticing the box Ururu had opened earlier. ‘Poor Merchandise’ read on the side.

 **“Look closely. What does it say?”** Jinta’s voice came, with Ururu’s eye on the screen mirroring the text.

 **“Poh… mah… chan…”** The girl spelled slowly.

 **“Poor merchandise! Defective! You sold a customer damaged goods!”** The boy raged. **“Get your act together! You and your stupid bangs!”**

**“Itaiiii…”**

**“Hora, hora… No fighting.”** Kisuke ‘interfered’.

 **“But this Gikongan is going to be trouble.”** Tessai said, reading the list of goods arrived in that batch.

**“I know. We’d better take care of this right away. Otherwise, who knows what he’ll do?”**

“Quite serious situation… I wonder what exactly is with that gikongan then to be deemed a danger.” Urahara frowned, picking a notebook from the table and starting a list of inventions presented at the story and probable uses for them.

On the schoolyard, the gikongan was stretching and testing the body he was inhabiting. He kicked through a low metal fence.

**“Yeah, feels great. I finally found a mobile body. Now I’m free.”**

“Not ominous at all…” Gin muttered, miffed that Rangiku forbid him from speculating the story more.

A janitor noticed the gikongan then and confronted him but the soul just jumped over and past him and jumped then on the roof like it was nothing.

“Good leg strength. Is it modified somehow, because Ichigo and human bodies in general don’t have capabilities like that.” Isane asked.

“Maybe.” Seinosuke hummed thoughtfully. “At least… we can assume so.”

Over at Ichigo’s classroom, lunchtime was beginning. Orihime had a whole bread and sweet bean jam with her. Chills went down Rojuro’s spine again.

And the Gikongan jumped all the way up to the third floor, to the shock and astonishment of the girls inside while by the river Ichigo slayed to hollow and stated having a bad feeling.

* * *

 **“Y-You! How did you get up here?”** Tatsuki shouted, pointing at the orange head.

**“How? You saw, didn’t you? I jumped. Well, wasn’t that amazing? Are you surprised?”**

The people in the classroom began gushing about the feat with the substitute soul preening and basking in the attention. Until he noticed the girls and their busts that was…

“Men…” Sui-Feng scoffed. “Disgusting.”

The substitute soul’s advances towards Orihime then would’ve been almost smooth if it wasn’t for the fact that he had only moments before remarked her as ‘super-sized’. Thankfully there was Tatsuki to the rescue. If Sui-Feng silently cheered on the karateka, it wasn’t anyone’s business.

Ichigo and Rukia were running.

**“Why are you hurrying back to the classroom?”**

**“I’m worried… if he’s doing okay.”**

**“You don’t have to worry, he’ll be fine.”**

“While I’m glad that Rukia has faith in Soul Society’s inventions, I’m worried if it’s a bit too blind here.” Ukitake thought.

 **“I don’t know about that. I’ve been getting bad vibes.”** And screams from the classroom reached them. And desk flew through a window.

“They are going to have a bit more damage control to do this time than normal.” Jin’emon stated.

In the classroom it was revealed that Tatsuki was the one throwing desks after the substitute soul had kissed her cheek.

 **“Stop right there!”** Rukia interfered, coming through the door. And when the substitute soul tried to run to the window, Ichigo was there, blocking the exit.

**“Now, there’s nowhere to run.”**

“I wouldn’t be saying so just yet…” Shinji muttered.

The substitute soul tried to attack Ichigo with kicks…

**“You, I mean, me… Augh!”**

“That’s got to be confusing…” Rangiku frowned. To the rest of the class it looked like Ichigo was kicking the air. Confusing indeed.

The kicking continued, with Ichigo just taking on the hits. And then the substitute soul fled, jumping through the window to the third floor. He landed cleanly before dashing away.

“What?” Isshin exclaimed. “How did he survive from that?”

“He could jump all the way there so he could also jump all the way down?” Kaien suggested.

 **“What’s going on with him?”** Ichigo asked.

 **“He can’t be…”** Rukia muttered. **“No, there’s so mistake… he’s a… Kaizou konpaku!”**

“Kaizou konpaku? What is that?” Isane asked.

“Probably a version of a konpaku that was developed in the future.” Nanao replied and frowned then. “But according to Rukia-san’s reaction, they are not… expected.”

Ichigo followed through the window while Rukia ran out of the classroom, leaving their classmates in the confusion and Tatsuki still stewing in rage.

 **“That wasn’t Kurosaki-kun.”** Orihime stated then.

“She did seem to pay attention to the space where Ichigo was after being kicked away by his body… Maybe she was sensing something.” Yoruichi suggested.

Ichigo and Rukia were looking for the boy’s body.

**“Dammit! We lost him! Lost me!”**

**“It’s a moratorium.”**

**“What?! This is no time for your mumbo-jumbo talk! I have to capture me, no, him! You saw it, too! The riot he caused in class. I, I mean, he used my body and took advantage of Inoue and Tatsuki and k-k-k…”**

**“Kissed them.”** Rukia supplied.

“Quita weird wording…” Mashiro snickered with Hiyori.

“And the deal he is making about kissing… What a brat.” The blonde scoffed.

After Ichigo was done with his melt-down he finally asked about the Kaizou konpaku. Everyone sharpened up to hear the explanation.

**“Once, a project called ‘Spearhead’ was begun in the Soul Society.”**

**“Spearhead?”**

**“Yes. A soul that has been modified for combat was placed into a person who had died and whose soul had left its body. They were to be used to fight Hollows. It was a despicable plan. These souls that were transformed for this project once placed into a body, they could make one part of the body super-human… An Artificial Soul made for fighting. That is a Kaizou Konpaku, Mod Soul.”** Rukia explained. **“But the Spearhead Project was cancelled because it would force corpses to fight.”**

“Horrible plan.” Unohana said. “Disgracing the bodies of the deceased.”

“If they had made bodies for the Mod Souls, the project might’ve had merit.” Kyoraku thought aloud. “But I doubt gigais would be durable enough and making bodies specifically for them wouldn’t be economically reasonable.”

“It always comes down to money.” Urahara nodded.

“But why is there a Mod Soul then? If the project was cancelled?” Rojuro asked.

“Maybe the project did start originally and first versions of the mod souls were made before the cancellation order.” Sasakibe suggested.

“Perhaps.” Ginrei agreed.

**“Furthermore, all the Kaizou Konpaku, Mod or Modified Souls that were in the development stage, were ordered destroyed. But to think, some are still around…”**

**“Does that mean…”** Ichigo began. **“That guy was created for the convenience of Soul Society and rejected at the whim of the Soul Society?!”**

“Sad but nonetheless true.” Ukitake sighed. “Such decisions just have to be made.

 **“Exactly that.”** Rukia replied to the orange-head.

**“And you accept that?!”**

**“It’s not a matter of accepting or not. Mod Souls must be destroyed. That’s the order of Soul Society. Do not forget that the laws of Soul Society are made for the purpose of protecting human souls!”**

“I don’t see how Mod Souls could be a threat to human souls if they are only used to fight hollows. I mean, even Shinigami can misfire while in battle.” Gin stated.

“Yeah, and when they are not in use, they are in pill form anyways.” Rangiku agreed.

“And considering their artificial nature, they wouldn’t go intentionally harming people either. Scientist wouldn’t give them personalities like that, right?” Isane added.

Youngsters… Many of the older Shinigami in the room though. So naïve and optimistic…

 ** _“I wonder how he feels in my body.”_** Ichigo’s thoughts echoed on the screen. **_“They were created thoughtlessly and condemned thoughtlessly. But he survived somehow and found a body… Yet he has to keep running. I wonder what he’s feeling?”_**

Well, the Mod Soul was having fun and bouncing around. Experiencing the joy of having a body and moving freely. He landed near some boys playing a game.

**“Darn! Lost again! Fight! Who do you think created you?”**

**“Kill him off!”**

**“Yeah, those who don’t obey their masters… die!”**

**“You really deleted him!”**

**“So what? I’ll make a better one.”**

“He’s going to snap…” Kaien muttered.

But before the Mod Soul managed to attack the kids, Ichigo interfered. The episode ended in a stand-off.

* * *

“Phew that was intense!” Asagi sighed.

“Kurosaki got quite the beating in the classroom.” Kanzo-iro added. “I’m glad I avoided that.”

“And at our world, I was there doing damage control.”

“Through having Tatsuki distract the entire class. And then manipulating teacher with your model-student act.”

“Of course! And I got Shinbashi-san to keep an eye on your body so you reached him faster.”

“Overall, we handled the thing much more efficiently.”

“And let’s play the next episode!”

* * *

The crew of Urahara Shoten were prepared to battle.

 **“Well, I guess that’s it.”** Kisuke stated about a bandage wrapped thing. Ururu approached him.

**“Ano… Kisuke-san… I’m sorry… This is all my fault…”**

Some women aww’ed at the little girl.

**“You’re angry… aren’t you?”**

“Kisuke… You better not…” Yoruichi warned.

“Of course I’m not angry at her! It was an honest mistake and my future self should’ve placed damaged goods out of reach so they wouldn’t be even accidentally sold to customers!” Urahara exclaimed in indignation.

On screen, Kisuke smiled and reached to pat Ururu’s head. The girl flinched, the timid thing she was, but looked up at him them.

 **“Not at all. Why are you getting so scared? We’re in this together, aren’t we? Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”** Kisuke reassured the girl and comforted the girl when she began crying.

 **“Tenchou, everything is ready.”** Tessai announced.

**“All right. Shall we go to collect our merchandise then?”**

**“Yes.”** Tessai nodded.

 **“Okay!”**  Jinta declared, hefting up his heavy bat. Ururu in the other hand took the bandaged thing, seemingly easily lifting it up.

At the yard of the middle school, Ichigo and Mod Soul were having a stand-off as Rukia arrived to the scene. Mod Soul attacked Ichigo again with kicks but the Shinigami substitute dodged them.

 **“If I stay calm, I can easily read your moves!”** They continued fighting until the Mod Soul fled. Ichigo was about the follow him but Rukia informed the boy about a new hollow.

 ** _“Dammit. That Shinigami and those kids ruined my good mood…”_** The Mod Soul thought while running. He paused then. **“A Hollow! I sense a hollow… It’s around where I was… Is it going to attack those kids?”**

“He actually cares?” Byakuya asked. “But wasn’t he just going to attack them himself?”

The kids from before were cleaning up after being caught cutting class. The hollow approached them. Meanwhile Rukia’s Denreishinki was malfunctioning.

“Just what is with the stuff from your shop and not working?” Yoruichi asked Urahara.

“Umm… I think that denreishinki was actually assigned to Kuchiki-san before she left for the world of living.”

The hollow attacked the kids but the Mod Soul interfered. And then attacked the hollow he’d downed with one kick.

“If it wasn’t obvious before, then now it is clear to see where the strength of this Mod Soul is.” Jin’emon said.

The kids ran away and the Mod Soul baited the hollow to follow him. Ichigo and Rukia spotted him landing on a roof of one of the buildings.

Up on the roof, the hollow began attacking the Mod Soul in earnest, the other just barely dodging. Until Ichigo came to his help.

 **“Y-You… Why… are you helping me-…?”** But Ichigo interrupted the questioning by grabbing the front of his shirt.

**“You! You’re hurt! Whose body do you think this is?! If a two-bit one like this can bloody you up this bad, don’t even think about fighting!”**

**“What do you mean?! I had to fight it because you took so long getting here!”**

**“Shut up! You’re supposed to be a battle-ready Mod Soul!”** They argued while the hollow geared up for an attack.

“Idiots, eyes on the enemy.” Sui-Feng hissed. The hollow charged.

 ** _“Shut up!”_** The two shouted whilst attacking back with a slice of a sword and kick in the mask.

“They could become quite the team…” Love mused. “They already have the synchronization in place.”

The hollow squirmed and began falling off the roof. The Mod Soul ran after it. The orange-headed body kicked it upwards in order to dissolve and was then falling down himself but Ichigo caught him by the ankle.

 **“You idiot! How reckless can you be?! Once you crack its head, the Hollow will disappear on its own! And you had to go kick it again…”** Ichigo lectured but then the voices of the trio of boys and their teacher reached them.

“Why does he care?” Byakuya frowned. He couldn’t understand it. That Mod Soul was made for battle. It was an artificial being. Why did he care?

 **“Didn’t you hate them?”** Ichigo asked the Mod Soul when they were both safely on the roof.

 **“So what? If I didn’t help then, they would’ve been killed.”** Came the answer. **“And I won’t let anyone get killed. Soon after I was created, Soul Society ordered all Mod Souls to be destroyed. In other words, my date of death was determined the day after I was created. I… I trembled in fear everyday, inside that pill as I watched the others around me disappear, day by day.”**

On the background green pills were floating through orange liquid.

**“Even though I was able to slip out of the warehouse by hiding among other pills, I was always afraid that I would someday be discovered and destroyed. All the while, I wondered: Why should others determine my fate? Why? Why can’t I decide for myself?! Isn’t it up to me whether I live or die?!”**

“If you are in the service of Gotei 13, then your life and death both belong to Soul Society.” Chikane stated somberly. “While the Mod Soul’s view is understandable, it doesn’t change that fact.”

“But there is a difference between a soldier and a tool.” Sojun noted. “We are soldiers and we follow orders. But Mod Souls were created to be tools, to be disposed of when they are of no use anymore or to be stored for later use. They weren’t created to have life outside battlefield and that’s what makes his desperation more understandable and real.”

Urahara glanced at the noble but remained quiet as his thoughts wandered to the Maggots Nest and people there who’s fate had been decided by Soul Society even before they had a chance to do anything to warrant persecution. It wasn’t fair. A lot of things in Soul Society were _wrong_.

**“That’s why… That’s why I… won’t kill anyone… And I don’t want to see anyone killed.”**

“It is a good creed. For a civilian.” Seinosuke remarked.

 **“Oh my… Here I finally found you and you’re all battered up.”** Kisuke spoke up behind the two. **“Looks like all the equipment we prepared was for nothing.”** Then he proceeded to poke through the head of Ichigo’s body with his cane.

“Brutal…” Lisa hummed. “If it weren’t for that symbol from Gokon Tekkou.”

“What’s with the cane?” Hiyori sneered.

“Hmm… We shall see, won’t we?” Urahara hummed, tapping his chin with a finger. He had a good idea what the cane actually was, considering the cut near the handle. But he wouldn’t say. Concealed weapons were such a handy thing.

On screen the green pill containing the Mod Soul came out at the back of Ichigo’s body’s head and rolled on the roof. The body fell on the ground, eye empty.

“Head damage…” Unohana tutted. Urahara sweated. Isshin chuckled.

“Collection completed. Let’s go home everyone.” Kisuke hummed, picking up the pill. The rest of Shoten crew were on the background.

 **“What?!”** Jinta protested. **“But I thought I’d finally be able to fight it out, after all this time.”**

“Definitely division Eleven material…” Shinji deadpanned.

 **“Wait a minute! What are you going to do with that?”** Ichigo asked then.

 **“Do with it?”** Kisuke questioned. **“Destroy it.”**

There were some raised eyebrows at the statement but no one commented.

**“Y-You can see me? Who are you guys?”**

**“Well, how can I answer that?”** Kisuke mused, tossing the pill up and down. Rukia caught it.

 **“A greedy merchant.”** She answered Ichigo.

**“Hey, you can’t take that!”**

**“What’s this, Urahara? Do you take back goods you’ve sold to people without giving them a refund?”**

**“Oh, well, I guess I’ll refund you then.”**

**“That’s not necessary. I’m satisfied with this item. Besides, you guys work outside the laws of Soul Society. You’re not really obligated to collect these things, are you?”**

“I don’t know if I should be impressed by her ability to exploit a loophole like that or dismayed that she is disregarding the orders concerning Mod Souls.” Sojun sighed.

“I’m more interested to find out why the hell Kisuke and Tessai are working outside the laws of Soul Society.” Yoruichi growled. “They are obviously still in contact with us since they get deliveries for Shinigami but why are they practically outlaws there?”

“Maa, Yoruichi-san, I think ‘outlaw’ is a bit of a stretch at this point…” Urahara pointed out but got a glare as a thanks.

“Don’t give me that, Kisuke. Something in the future is obviously going wrong and badly. Isshin is there, playing human, you and Tessai are there, known but not required to obey laws anymore. Do you know what that means? Exile! You two have been exiled for a reason or other so don’t tell me to calm down!”

 **“Don’t blame me if you run into trouble. We’re going to be hiding out.”** Kisuke replied to Rukia. Yoruichi’s ‘like I just said’-glare didn’t help the situation.

 **“Don’t worry. I’ve gotten used to trouble lately.”** And she and Ichigo left the roof.

* * *

Ichigo and Rukia were wandering about streets. Sun was setting. Ichigo cringed at the wound on his shoulder.

**“Hm? What’s the matter Ichigo?”**

**“Man… Abusing my body, knowing it wasn’t his…”** The boy dug out the green pill from his pocket. **“Hey, I’m talking to you! Are you listening?!”**

 **“You must look very strange to outsiders.”** Rukia sighed.

**“I don’t like it! Rukia, what do I do to complain to him directly?”**

**“Hm? Well, you’d need to insert it into a body without a soul – in other words, a dead body.”**

And they began looking for a dead body.

“Technically, it wouldn’t need to be a dead body…” Urahara mused. “A gigai or otherwise movable container would suffice as well…”

“The konpaku testing is done with reigai, right? Those are the spiritual equivalent of a gigai but don’t classify as ‘dead’ either.” Yoruichi added. Her former subordinate nodded.

After sitting by a road and stalking for a hit-and-run cat or something similar, Ichigo happened to spot a lion plushie thrown away.

 **“This is… Hey, in other word, all I need is a receptacle, right?”** Ichigo asked.

 **“Huh? Yes, but that’s not…”** Rukia began but paused. **_“Oh, but this body I’m in isn’t a real body either.”_**

**“Rukia!”**

**“O-Okay, let’s give it a try.”**

And the lion plushie came to life.

“That’s so bizarre.” Lisa remarked.

“It moves. How can it move if it’s only stuffing?” Nanao wondered. “No muscles or bones…”

“And the expressions.” Rangiku continued.

 **“You! Kurosaki Ichigo! I challenge you again!”** The plushie postured. **“Huh, what? Y-You’re huge! No, I’m small! What’s going on?!”**

**“Hey, you Mod Soul. I don’t think our discussion was over. I’m going to take real good care of you! Prepare yourself!”**

“He’s pissed.” Gin said flatly before grinning. “I wonder how Ichi-kun will make the Mod Soul suffer.”

“You are being creepy again, Gin.” Rangiku told him.

Next day dawned. The Mod Soul woke Ichigo up. And was being extremelly irritating.

“No different than some unseated officers. Equally irritating.” Jin’emon observed.

Ichigo tossed the plushie away.

**“Yammering away first thing in the morning… I told you to shut up and act like a stuffed animal, didn’t I, Kon?!”**

**“Why the heck are you calling me Kon?!”**

“You don’t think…” Love snickered behind his hand.

“Oh, yes he did…” Shinji grinned.

“It’s hard to call you Kaizou Konpaku. Kon’s good enough for you.”

**“That’s no reason for you to call me Kon! Doesn’t it sound sort of silly? I know! Why don’t you call me Kai instead? I like Kai. Call me Kai.”**

“Please don’t!” Kaien moaned to the amusement of his captain.

**“No way.”**

**“Why not?!”**

**“Because Kai sounds kinda cool. I wouldn’t like it.”**

“Thank you…”

 **“What’s all this racket so early in the morning? I can’t even take my time to change clothes…”** Rukia interrupted, stepping out of the closet she resided in. And stepped on Kon who had now the direct view to her panties.

**“N-Nice angle… I’m glad I’m a stuffed animal…”**

This time both Byakuya and Sui-Feng were steaming in anger towards the plushie with the rest of the ladies (bar Yoruichi) not far behind.

Rukia proceeded on stomping on the plushie much to his protests but it all ended when Yuzu stepped into the room with next to no warning. And found Ichigo awkwardly holding the door of his closet close.

“I wonder how many close calls they had.” Rojuro chuckled.

 **“What are you doing so early in the morning?”** Ichigo asked his little sister.

 **“It’s not early anymore. Kojima-kun and Asano-kun are waiting for you.”** Yuzu pointed out.

Noting the time, Ichigo began hastily change clothes. As he did so, he noted that no one for his class remembered the events of the previous day.

 **“Say… You erased the memories of my classmates again, didn’t you?”** He asked Rukia once Yuzu had left.

**“Of course. You wouldn’t want them to remember what happened yesterday, would you? Urahara helped. He owed for the Mod Soul anyways and Kon’s actions had quite the few witnesses.”**

**“I see.”** Ichigo went to put on his watch but noticed the date in it. June 16 th.

 **“Ichigo, I’m going on ahead.”** Rukia announced, about to exit through the window.

“Weren’t those two boys just outside his window?” Seinosuke asked. “Did they leave?”

“Doesn’t matter if they were or weren’t, it’s in broad daylight. Anyone can see Kuchiki exiting.” Lisa stated. “I’m surprised there aren’t more rumours about them going around their school.”

**“Ichigo? What’s wrong?”**

**“Nothing…”**

“Something is definitely at his mind. I wonder if this is the prelude to the next case.” Kaien observed.

“Maybe. It would certainly break the routine of the cases shown thus far.” Ukitake agreed.

“Which means we are probably getting a cliffhanger at the end of this episode!” Kyoraku declared.

The scene was at school now. The girls discussing art projects. ‘Me in the Future’

“Tatsuki-chan is quite talented.”

“Orihime-chan is certainly unique.”

“But went off completely of the given topic.” Mashiro drew Isane into the conversation.

On the background, a black-haired boy was embroidering some flowers to a cloth. Ichigo came to the classroom.

 **“Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!”** Orihime greeted the boy.

 **“Huh? Oh… Good morning, Inoue!”** Ichigo greeted back with a forced smile. Tatsuki blinked at the action.

“That was fake.” Kaien said flatly. “I wonder what’s going on with him.”

“Maybe it had something to do with the date on his watch.” Kyoraku suggested. “He became oddly quiet after seeing it.”

 **“What’s with him? Kurosaki-kun sure is in a good mood today.”** Ogawa Michiru asked. **“Isn’t he, Orihime? Huh? Orihime?”**

 **“Mmm… But…”** The busty girl nodded.

 **“Michiru, what’s the date today?”** Tatsuki asked.

**“Huh? It’s June 16 th…”**

**“I see… He’s not in a good mood. He acts like that when he’s really tense.”** The karateka explained.

“So we were right…” Kaien muttered. “Now we only need to know the reason…”

**“Tatsuki-chan…”**

**“Don’t worry. I know the reason why. Tomorrow, he’s going to skip school.”**

Night-time. Kurosaki clinic. Family meeting in the kitchen. Isshin messing around, Karin complaining, Yuzu going along with the silliness, Ichigo just watching with a smile.

“That shirt is ridiculous.” Sui-Feng muttered at the pink monstrosity that Isshin was wearing on-screen.

“It was surprisingly like Shiba family meetings.” Isshin just grinned. “A bit tamer. Must be the calming temperament of beautiful Masaki.”

“You haven’t even met her yet!” Kaien tossed a pillow at the man.

Up in Ichigo’s room, Rukia questioned the boy.

**“It looked like fun.”**

**“What was?”**

**“What? The family meeting you had, of course. So, what? Are you playing hooky from school and going on a picnic tomorrow?”** She asked in excitement.

Kon’s interference was minimal and once he was shut up, the gathered Shinigami waited patiently for an explanation.

 **“Say, Rukia… About my work as a shinigami… Can I take the day off tomorrow?”** Ichigo asked, gaining some raised eyebrows.

 **“Wha… What are you saying?! Of course you can’t! What’s going on with you?!”** Rukia shouted, getting approving nods in turn. **“You’ve been acting strange since this morning.”**

 **“It’s the day she died… Tomorrow’s the anniversary of the day my mother died.”** Ichigo said, looking out of the window. **“That’s not quite right… To be precise, it’s not the day she died… It’s the day she was killed.”**

“That’s…” Rangiku whispered.

“That’s so sad…” Nanao mumbled.

“Do you think it was a hollow?” Isane asked Mashiro who shrugged.

“Maybe. I could be the center of the next case.” The green-haired lieutenant said.

Clouds moved to cover the moon. Water droplets fell to the concrete. Karakura’s lights shone in the night. Orihime was going through the previous day in her mind.

**_“If… If I were the rain, would I be able to connect with someone’s heart, the way the rain connects the never intersecting sky and earth?”_ **

“Beautiful thought.” Unohana said as the scene turned back to Ichigo who was now lying on his bed. The scene zoomed in on his face until the scene changed again. This time to a fuzzy image of a rainy riverside.

Young Ichigo was walking with a woman, presumably his mother and noticed someone standing by the river. The girl by the river seemed to lean in. Ichigo began running.

The scene flashed to teenage Ichigo, unrestful for witnessing the memory.

Young Ichigo was running. Masaki – for her face was finally seen – shouted something after him. The girl was still there until everything blurred and Masaki was on the ground with Ichigo trying to make her wake up.

“There is a blank spot.” Love said. “Anything could’ve happened between those to scenes.”

“A hollow is likely.” Jin’emon agreed.

On screen Rukia listened to Ichigo until the scene changed to something in Soul Society. Children were playing with tops in a bowl with a Shinigami being into the game too. Apparently, he was the competing against the children with his own top. Small scale gambling. The shinigami’s top lost.

 **“Aww, shucks… Okay, one more time. I won’t lose this time.”** He smiled to the kids but noticed then a black-clad figure in the alleyway.

“Onmitsukidou? Don’t tell me they’re sending one after Rukia!” Kaien stared.

“If she is breaking orders, it is possible. Kisuke did warn the girl.” Yoruichi pointed out.

 **“What’s the matter, ojisan?”** One of the children asked.

**“Sorry, something just came up.”**

**“Aww, no…”**

But the man gave some candy for the kids who left laughing. He in the other hand met the shadowy figure in a shadowy alley.

**“So, who is it today?”**

**“Kuchiki Rukia of the Division Thirteen.”**

“So she is my subordinate then.” Ukitake said. “She seemed like competent girl.”

 **“Kuchiki?”** The Shinigami asked. **“And what has that young lady done?”**

**“She has stayed too long in the human world.”**

**“Is that all?”**

**“We wouldn’t call you out if that were all. There’s something behind it. Find out what it is.”**

**“I can be a little rough, I take it?”**

**“Leave at once.”** And the Onmi messenger left.

**“That Kuchiki Rukia…”**

* * *

 

The episode ended.

“The consequences have started to appear then.” Kyoraku mused.

“I hope that Shinigami won’t hurt Rukia-san too badly.” Kaien said. “I’d hate for my subordinate to get hurt.”

“Isn’t it strange though that she didn’t note Ichigo’s similarity to you then?” Ukitake said. “If she were in other division, she might not know what you look like but since is in the Thirteeth…”

“True… But if she thinks Ichigo as a mere human and he is mainly scowls all the time, she might be ignoring it.”

“It’s late.” Yamamoto announced then, getting on his feet. “Considering the excitement we have had today and the revelations presented to us in such a short time, I think it is prudent for us to turn in for now and process everything.”

Some Shinigami jolted.

“Damn, he was so quiet the entire time I forgot he even was here…” Hiyori muttered quietly, her voice getting drowned under the noise of people getting up and leaving the room.

“Men’s quarters are on the left and women’s on the right. There are different sized rooms in there with futons stacked.” Asagi began explaining. “Rooms are soundproofed so no snores will disturb your neighbours.”

“Good night. Some evening snack in prepared in the dinner hall.” Kanzo-iro added.


End file.
